Lethbridge School Division works toward accomplishment through challenges

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on January 12, 2022.

Lethbridge school board chair Allison Purcell

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The Lethbridge School Division, like many others, experienced challenges in 2021 but also many accomplishments despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their year began with boundary reviews, to better serve the different communities of Lethbridge.
“We looked at as a division where the school pressures were in terms of where our kids went and where we had space,” said Allison Purcell, board chair for the Lethbridge School Division.
She said that in September they were very excited to open Dr. Robert Plaxton Elementary School to serve the south side communities.
“It’s an elementary school, K to five, but it has virtual reality, it has 3D printing abilities, so the opportunities that we’re offering students at that school are just absolutely amazing,” said Purcell.
Another Lethbridge community that will benefit from a new school is Garry Station on the west side of the city, where the school division will be opening a new elementary school.
“We’ve done some work looking at some design concepts for that and the anticipated start date for that school is 2025,” said Purcell.
In regard to the curriculum, Purcell said that in the spring the school division made the decision to not support the province’s new draft K-6 curriculum moving forward.
“And then we looked at continuing that advocacy to ensure that there was a pause that happened for curriculum, so that’s definitely something that has gone on throughout the year,” said Purcell.
She said they want to ensure they are doing their part as a board, as an elected body, to slow down the changes making sure that proper process is in place.
She added that in the first half of 2021, the Lethbridge School Division experienced many challenges with school closures and many COVID-19 cases in their schools.
“We saw our teachers work with that and since September we’ve been back in school and we haven’t had – besides the odd one (case of COVID) here and there for schools – but our teachers have been out there being champions,” said Purcell.
Purcell said that she has heard from teachers that September felt like an entire school year all wrapped up in one, as there was many challenges with coming back to a fresh new school year.
“Hopefully we make it through this next little bit with the new variants, that we don’t see too much change in our schools,” said Purcell.
She said staff will be meeting in the new 2022 to look at what is happening with COVID and review what is going to happen going forward with their extracurricular activities.
Purcell said something that was important to mention was the fact that 2021 was the first year they recognized September 30 as Truth and Reconciliation Day.
“As a division, definitely making that commitment to the part that we all play in truth and reconciliation, so we’ve seen lots of great work that our school community is doing,” said Purcell.
She said one of the ways the division is doing their part is by growing their Indigenous education department, which now includes numerous Indigenous graduation coaches, elementary and middle school teachers of Indigenous education and a program coordinator.
“We’re looking at embedding the importance of the culture and that it’s not just we’re teaching Indigenous students, as we’re teaching all students about the importance of truth and reconciliation,” said Purcell.
As for her new role as board chair, Purcell said that even though her role is new on the board, she is not new to governance.
“I’m new to this board, it’s great being able to work together with such a diverse board,” said Purcell.
She added that when they look at that diversity it brings the board connections to many different pieces of the community.
“Even though we’re diverse, we definitely have lots of commonalities amongst us. So it’s looking at those commonalities and how we bring those ideas forward,” said Purcell.
When it comes to 2022, Purcell said they are looking forward to community engagement, through conversations with the community in a casual setting.
“We’re going to look at a new initiative called Community Conversations, where we’ll look at having a time for people to come share coffee with us and bring their educational issues whether it’s concerns, or to celebrate the positives that they are seeing at their schools,” said Purcell.
Another way they are looking forward to engage with the community is in their virtual town hall in the new year.
“Town hall provides us with some input looking forward into where we’re going, what direction we’re going as a board,” said Purcell.
Purcell added that shortly after that, they will be looking at their budget.
“I think with our strategic planning it’s a great opportunity for us as the new board, to really look forward to us creating our own plan of what we all bring to the table and what that’s going to look like going forward,” said Purcell.
She said that their priority as a board is to ensure their students’ success.
“We look at what are the challenges that our students are facing and how we navigate those challenges, so that we can have success for our students,” said Purcell.

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