The Chinook's Edge Board of Education received a presentation from two district administrators last week who have been helping their fellow administrators solve problems at individual schools over the past four months.Mark Crawford, principal at Spruce View School, and Jeff Thompson, principal at West Glen School in Didsbury, have been seconded to the division since September to help develop the leadership skills of administrators across the division. Earlier in the year the pair would meet with individual principals about their schools' education plans and how they might help them achieve those plans. Since Crawford and Thompson have come on board however, principals have been contacting them to solve problems each individual school might be having.ìWe've been very fortunate to lend our voices Ö in different aspects,î Thompson told trustees on Wednesday.Through these positions, Crawford said both he and Thompson have gained a greater understanding of the similarities and differences between separate schools in the division.ìIt's certainly a broader role in that I'm working with all schools. Being a school-based administrator your main concern is just your own building, but with this role your concern is Ö you want to see everyone be successful. It's very much a pressure and support type role where you're providing support to school-based administrators,î Crawford said.By sharing ideas across the division, Thompson said the hope is that all administrators across the division will be better served.ìWe're kind of adding to the collective wisdom of the division,î Crawford said.Another side-benefit to the project has been that the vice-principals at Spruce View and West Glen have also developed their leadership skills in the absence of Crawford and Thompson, who maintain contact with their schools to help out in any way they can. Carolyn Massel and Glen Brooke have taken over the respective schools until Crawford and Thompson return to their old positions later this spring.Capital reserves in deficiencyCapital reserves of the CESD are currently in a $1.5-million deficiency, trustees heard on Wednesday, primarily due to the former Olds High School property still being up for sale. Susan Roy, the division's secretary-treasurer, told trustees that while it's expected the sale will move the account into positive territory, the account won't show that until the funds are accrued.ìChinook's Edge capital reserves are solid. As we project into the future, we're on a solid grounding for our capital (reserves), and in that capital we have some property that is still up for sale. That's a part of our capital reserves,î Allan Tarnoczi, associate superintendent of corporate services, said.Penhold school project nearing tender stageThe new school that was announced for Penhold last year is almost ready to go out to tender. Tarnoczi said the next step is to draw engineering diagrams and then put the project out to tender, which could happen in the next few weeks, with the contract awarded by the end of the winter. If all goes according to plan, construction could start sometime this summer, with the division hopeful that ìsignificant constructionî will have taken place by the end of the year.Tarnoczi said the idea of the school would be to take students that are currently bused from outside Red Deer to River Glen School in the middle of the city.ìThis school will provide us with the capacity to house those students we're currently busing right into the middle of the City of Red Deer. This is going to act as a regional school for that whole surrounding area. It's going to be rural in flavour and it's going to address some of those transportation challenges that Chinook's Edge has in busing kids through city traffic,î he said.With the school, Tarnoczi said CESD hopes to reduce ride times for students as well as provide a more rural school experience.
