Dr. Gordon Martell

We are excited to again be convening a forum of educational leaders and perspective leaders to exchange ideas and inspirations on learning and leadership at the 2024 Saskatchewan Principals’ Short Course. Through dynamic times, we continue to witness school leaders steward the values of publicly funded and band-controlled education and ensure that children and youth are prepared to advance the ideals of a shared and prosperous future. When we gather as a community of leaders, we make sense of our challenges, reaffirm commitment to our communities, and exchange ideas to enhance our ability to lead change by posing the question, “…what’s now and what’s next in educational leadership…” (Netolicky, 2021).  

The 2024 Saskatchewan Principals’ Short Course theme of Engagement, Learning and Leading invites delegates to explore how we navigate complexity and enhance the moral purpose of schools through collaborative leadership. We endeavour to create a learning forum where we talk about challenges and opportunities and how we foster communities that see value in diversity and the role of schools in developing citizens who seek to nurture common good among peoples.  

At the heart of reimagining schools for complex times are leaders that push past the limits of binary thinking and serve as catalysts to connect diverse knowledges to inform our schools, systems, and curricula. As we strengthen our leadership networks, we also strengthen our stewardship of the role and purpose of schools as catalysts for peace, equity, prosperity, and inclusion. Engaged leaders mediate overlapping and sometimes conflicting perspectives by serving as rich sources of knowledge and experience and as those trusted to guide school communities through uncertain times.  

We aspire to a learning forum that emphasizes how leaders gather and exchange ideas, how they build collaborative practice, and how they challenge publicly funded and band-controlled education to new heights. Engaged leaders are resilient, inspirational, and effective. Your participation in the 2024 Saskatchewan Principals’ Short Course will provide opportunity to celebrate leadership, recommit to students and families, and embrace your role in building communities of practice. You will contribute as much as you learn, and you will help strengthen a community of engaged educational leaders ready to embrace the future and ensure our schools continue to nurture hope and inspiration. 

• Schedule

Program Objectives

The major goal of the Short Course is to provide an intensive opportunity for participants from provincial and First Nations schools to deepen their knowledge of theory, practice, and reflection, contributing to their skills as teachers and school leaders.  The activities of the Course will enable participants to:

1. Examine the role of the principal through the lens of instructional leadership;
2. Extend knowledge regarding the practices of establishing a vision, influencing school culture, and stimulating the learning environment, while at the same time managing, modeling, and monitoring activities within the school;
3. Learn about new developments and initiatives in education;
4. Share experiences, insights and concerns with other practitioners; and,
5. Develop a support network of diverse peers across the entire province.

Short Course Design

The format for the Saskatchewan Principals’ Short Course is shaped by the Instructional, Distributed, Ethical, and Transformational Leadership frameworks.  Session leaders and presenters represent views and perspectives from Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews.  As such, this course builds understanding of the role of the principal, as well as issues and challenges for provincial and First Nations leadership. 

The course is designed so that participants will be able to frame their learning within the three successful components of school leadership: Establishing a Vision and Culture Conducive to Learning; Stimulating the Learning Environment; and Managing, Modeling, and Monitoring.

Within the theme of Establishing a Vision and Culture Conducive to Learning, we have planned larger plenary sessions so that participants can come to understand the necessary roles of a shared vision and a culture of learning in their professional communities.

Within the theme of Enhancing the Learning Environment, we have planned smaller sessions which will enable participants to focus on topics of special interest to their schools.  These sessions will make up a significant component of the conference in that each will generate discussion within the broader context of school leadership.  This session format consists of multiple small group presentations, with audience sizes of 15-25 participants in the hope that participants engage in meaningful, related discussion.

Within the theme of Managing, Modeling, and Monitoring, we have placed sessions (large sessions again), which are designed to help participants understand the management role inherent in school leadership.

Throughout the week, participants will frequently meet as a small group with their facilitator, where they will have the opportunity to engage in Professional Reflection and Deeper Inquiry, discuss what they have learned, ask questions of group members and leaders, and share experiences, thoughts, and concerns in dialogue with one another.

While the week’s activities include a number of topics of special interest to beginning vice-principals and principals, many of the issues will be relevant to those in other leadership positions, including teacher leaders.

Sessions span the learning necessary for leadership, teaching, and learning across all treaties, enabling participants to not only add to their developing philosophy and repertoire of leadership strategies, but to also understand what others are facing as well.

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