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 2025 Saskatchewan Principals’ Short Course. The 2025 Saskatchewan Principals' Short Course theme is The First 100 Days: Stewarding People, Learning & Resources with Confidence and Competence. 

While novice school administrators aspire to effective schools and successful students, inadequate preparation for day-to-day tasks can erode focus on those broad goals. Although leadership is widely understood to be one of the most important factors influencing student learning, preparation for leadership roles often lacks opportunities for personal, professional, and organizational socialization that contributes to leadership influence on learning. In addition, because of challenges with task, time, people, and priority management, new school leaders often experience isolation that makes learning the skills they need to feel successful even more challenging. A focus on the first 100 days will help to establish a foundation for role clarity and instill the confidence to engage with the role.

The 2025 SPSC will highlight the knowledges and skills useful in:

1. Stewarding People: Building sustainable relationships with students, staff, families, and stakeholders;
2. Stewarding Learning: The role of schools in fostering learner confidence and growth; and
3. Stewarding Resources: Developing the skills and knowledge to manage people, physical, and financial resources and marshal the supports of stakeholders.

A focus on developing confidence and competence allows new and aspiring leaders to feel and be effective. The conference will emphasize the development of relational networks and the foundational skills and knowledge necessary for school leaders to succeed across diverse contexts and challenges.

In development and will be listed on the website once confirmed.

• 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 principles of instructional, distributed, ethical, and transformational leadership. Session leaders and presenters represent perspectives and practices relevant to Provincial and First Nations school contexts. The course adopts a priority for creating a context of support for school leaders.

The Saskatchewan educational partners will offer their perspectives and advice for nurturing school leadership to build their confidence and competence. The core of the short course is the fireside chat groups, where participants will journey with a small cohort of about 10 participants. Their meetings will provide opportunity to process learning and to exchange ideas and strengths to build the capacity of the whole group. The small group meetings with their facilitator provide opportunity to engage in professional reflection and inquiry, discuss what they have learned, ask questions of group members and leaders, and share experiences, thoughts, and concerns in dialogue with one another.

Our Keynote sessions will address the major themes of Stewarding People, Stewarding Learning, and Stewarding Resources, along with a focus on The First 100 Days in leadership, ensuring that all participants establish a foundation of learning consistent with the theme and purpose of the Short Course.

A series of smaller impact sessions will reinforce the thematic learning by focusing on legal issues that pertain to school leadership; building a culture of learning and positive and productive staff teams; supporting classroom teachers for effectiveness; and building positive and productive family and community partnerships. We have also built in a number of sessions focusing on strengthening diversity and building school communities reflective of the communities that we serve.

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

Sessions span the learning necessary for leadership, teaching, and learning across all jurisdictions and types of schools, enabling participants to not only add to their developing philosophy and repertoire of leadership strategies, but to understand more global challenges in the sector.

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