One year into Rocky View Schools’ (RVS) 2015-19 Four Year Plan, trustees evaluated how the plan has been integrated into schools across the division during the Jan. 7 regular board meeting.
The 2015-19 Four Year Plan, which was approved Feb. 4, 2015, and seeks to outline “goals, outcomes, performance measures and strategies” in the division.
“There’s a lot of work that is going on in our schools, in our classrooms, (with) our staff to make all of this actually live and make it relevant for the students that we serve and their families,” RVS Board Chair Colleen Munro said. “There is a ton of work that goes into this, and our staff need to know that we appreciate all of this work to make our Four Year Plan a reality.”
The three goals listed in the Four Year Plan – that learners are successful, engaged and supported – guided the work undertaken in the first year of the strategy. Out of those goals, RVS expects nine “outcomes” amongst students.
“We’re really taking a look at the whole child. We’re looking at the academic part of the child, literacy and numeracy, but we’re really delving deep into the (social and emotional) side of the learner,” Trustee Bev LaPeare said. “We’re really doing everything we possibly can.”
Among initiatives being undertaken in the division to ensure “learners are supported” – one of the goals listed in the plan – is a focus on social and emotional needs across RVS schools. In the past 30 months, 730 RVS teachers were trained in the Mandt system, which helps staff support “people, not just their behaviours.”
Other social and emotional supports undertaken in the division in the past year focused on wrap-around services, moving forward with high school redesign and “design and retrofitting” learning spaces.
Trustee Sylvia Eggerer noted initiatives undertaken in the Four Year Plan reflected where the board sent funding as part of its budget priorities.
“It mirrors what we have put forward,” she said. “Special needs learners, that is addressed here in several places. So it’s really refreshing to see what we have established (being implemented).”
The Four Year Plan is available online at rockyview.ab.ca
