Initiatives and Partnerships

Regardless of the educational environment in which I have worked - school, district, or association - the opportunity to create, innovate, and cross-pollinate was always present. The purpose of this section is identify select initiatives and partnerships that I have led throughout my career. I would be pleased to discuss any initiative or partnership in greater detail. As with the previous sections, these examples are selected to also represent my teaching and learning philosophy in action over a wide span of my career.

Initiatives

D17 Differentiation Study Group (2001)

Considered innovative at the time because: teachers applied in teams to participate; the study group met for two consecutive days at five different times in the school year; day 1 of session was strategy and day 2 was lesson preparation; a supper debrief was held after each two-day session in which participants presented to school administration their own and student learnings.

POINT and Uncharted Conference (2009)

The New Brunswick Beginning Teacher Induction Program was cancelled within months of my assuming the role of NBTA Director of Professional Issues. I conducted research, consulted teacher members, and developed both the Professional Orientation and Induction of New Teachers (POINT) program and the NBTA signature early career teacher conference Uncharted. Data collection, focus groups, and NBTA Branch POINT Reps. provide input to allow both the program and the conference to evolve to meet current needs.

Insight  (2022)

A clear gap that evolved from my doctoral research was the lack of full membership survey for the NBTA. Working with the NBTA Advocacy, Research, and Engagement Committee, the first ever survey was conducted in 2022 and continues to be conducted every two years. During the first survey, focus groups of over 100 New Brunswick teachers provided detail to the emergent themes. A final report is created from each survey in which results are analyzed, findings are articulated, and recommendations used to guide the NBTA Strategic Plan.

Partnerships

St. Thomas University Social Action Field Placements (2012)

NBTA partnered with the School of Social Work to host two student interns to complete a study of national student breakfast programs and then to create a manual to guide schools in the creation of this service.

Canadian Teachers' Federation Women's Symposium (2011)

CTF plans an annual women's conference and in 2011 the Atlantic Provinces were hosts. This national three day conference took place in Moncton and I was lead organizer, in partnership with the other Atlantic teacher organizations and CTF. 

Riipen (2021)

Through the Riipen collaboration platform, NBTA partnered with York University and one school district to complete a people analytics study on the shortage of supply teachers in New Brunswick. The report, In Short Supply, was used in the context advocacy.