Systems Thinking

God is asking us, as faith leaders, to interact with others with compassion and respect. God does not discriminate. As leaders we need to ensure everyone we are entrusted to serve feels equal acceptance from us and equal possibility to succeed. We must lead with diligence but must also do it humbly. We should not allow the position to separate us from others since we are all equal. Just as the human body is made up of separate body systems which function to produce specific outcomes, they cannot thrive independent of each other, so is the school system. The principal of a school does not stand alone, rather stands with the staff, students and school community.

I chose Setting Directions as the leadership capacity to focus on for the practicum piece of PQP Part 1. In previous school years the staff of Loyola had identified the fact that single parents face multiple barriers to finishing high school (e.g., mental health or addiction issues, domestic violence, lack of self esteem, confidence, clarity about career goals and pathway planning). I took on a leadership role in the development and delivery of a pilot project designed to equip participants with transferable life skills that would enable them to achieve and maintain success in work, school, and as parents. The proposal is included as an attachment. I have also chosen to include two other assignments which are related to this theme: my annual growth plan and my self-assessment tool.

The community liaison both shares and receives information with and from the community. Without an individual willing to take on this role, any school would become isolated and unaware of progress and change in the community and how this affects its learners. My role as community liaison for Loyola has seen me interact with the following agencies and institutions: Agencies involved in Adult Education (MITERS); CESBA; CRCQ; Colleges; The Ontario e-Learning Consortium; Belleville Transit Commission; Food for Learning Partners; Ontario Works; Children’s Aid Society; Employment Partners; Fire Safety Team; and Health & Safety.

MITERS stands for “Model of Inclusive Training and Education in Rural Settings. I was a member of the steering committee which had representatives from The Ontario Ministry of Education, The Ontario Ministry of Colleges, Training and University and The Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. By representing Loyola, I was able to advocate for the needs of the learners and was also able to dialogue with members of these other agencies ensuring I was aware of changes in other ministries which could have an impact on Loyola.

As a Loyola Guidance counsellor, it is extremely important to be a member of the Ontario Association of Adult and Continuing Education School Board Administrators (CESBA). Included in this portfolio is a copy of a PowerPoint presentation I co-presented at the Fall 2009 conference. The goal of the presentation was to showcase how Loyola runs a 6 week block day school and to offer guidance and suggestions to other Adult Education Schools interested in following a similar model. I have received valuable professional development by attending the CESBA conferences regularly. In addition, I have been able to widen my network of professional contacts. A few years ago, I was surprised and pleased to be contacted by a teacher I met at the Fall 2011 conference. She was looking for guidance on a concern, and I was able to support her. A copy of our email correspondence has been included in this portfolio. Since that time, I have further developed my network and have been asked to participate in PLAR assessment writing tasks.

Loyola Belleville is housed within a building and is part of a co-operative known as the CRCQ. All agencies meet once a month to share news concerns and manage the building. Historically, the needs of Loyola have often been viewed by this committee to be in direct conflict with the needs of the CRCQ. Since becoming the Loyola Representative my non-threatening and non-aggressive approach to management has seen this hostility lesson resulting in more positive management decisions.

I am very proud of an agreement I was able to make between Loyola and the Belleville Transit Commission in the fall of 2011. Up until this time adult students were not permitted to receive the student discount rate when taking public transit. By meeting with Councillor Jack Miller I was able to present a case for Loyola students. As an outcome of this meeting, a student card was developed which students can now use to ride the busses at the student discounted rate.

As community liaison I find myself communicating with others at community events, email, telephone, and through written correspondence. Included in this portfolio are samplers of some of the resources I have developed for this purpose. I have chosen to include these because they model my type of leadership: one who likes to lead by example in an unpresuming way.

While attending the 2017 PLAR Mentor/Mentee Workshop, during a networking opportunity, I was chatting with one of the mentees from a different group. She was very excited about a resource her Mentor has just introduced her to. Intrigued, I asked her to share this with me. I discovered, she was referring to an excel spreadsheet used for tracking senior equivalent credits earned by students. This is a resource I developed two years ago that I shared at the PLAR Mentor workshop one year ago. It is professionally satisfying that a resource I created for Loyola is now something used provincially. (Please see the attachment entitled 1 snr eqv updated dec 2015.) By being part of this mentorship group I am able to learn best practices from others throughout the province and share best practices and resources developed for Loyola and the ALCDSB.

http://ishare.alcdsb.on.ca/growingsuccess/AdminProcedure.aspx (Participated on the Assessment and Evaluation Committee which developed this resource)