Mr. Pedersen Named 2020 OSLA Admin of the Year

Our very own Mr. Pedersen had received this year’s Ontario School Library Association’s Administrator of the Year Award!

Congratulations, Mr. Pedersen!

Castle Oaks’ Library Learning Commons is very fortunate to have an advocate and supporter like you.

Read his statement about the importance of the school library learning commons & his journey below.

I have always loved books and reading from the time I was a young child. My mother would read to my brother and I every night. I grew up searching out great books to read in whatever library I could find whether at the school, our church, or the public library, always signing out as many books as I was allowed.

When I began as a teacher in the Peel District School Board in 1997, I was fortunate to begin working with a number of excellent teacher librarians who would collaborate and support my students and I in our learning. When I was fortunate enough to become an Instructional Resource Teacher in 2004, I continued to work with teacher librarians across the board who were transforming their school libraries into community hubs of creativity and innovation. When I went into administration in 2007, I had a deep understanding and appreciation of the great potential for school libraries and it became my goal to support the growth of these spaces.

I am deeply honoured to be receiving this year’s Ontario School Library Association’s Administrator of the Y ear Award. As a principal, I continue to believe that the library learning commons must be a place of inquiry and wonder for all students; a place where the whole school community can come together to learn and grow; a place at the heart of the school. I see my role as an administrator as providing support for school library learning com- mons so that work can continue. I work to provide that support by advocating for appropriate staffing levels, providing resources both financially and materially, and allowing for rich professional learning to take place to ensure that all students, staff, and families can continue to benefit from school libraries as I have.

Tim Pedersen is currently the principal of Castle Oaks Public School in Brampton.

He has been with the Peel board since 1997.