Policies

Policy Statement:

The Board has the ultimate responsibility for long and short planning for the district.

This may take various forms but includes having an up to date Strategic Plan, an Annual Plan, and Three Year Education Plan. 

Board Action: 
The Board has outlined the following to provide direction to the Division: 

1. Mission Statement
   Together we will ensure learning success for all students to develop their unique potential as caring citizens in a changing world.

2. Mandate
   The primary mandate for Palliser School Division is to: 

• Educate all children in the school jurisdiction in an equitable manner.
• Encourage and motivate the progressive development of fundamental knowledge, skills and attitudes.
• Provide an educational program through a partnership of school, family and community, thereby preparing students academically, socially and emotionally to be responsible, caring and knowledgeable citizens.
• Provide quality life skill education to all students.
• Foster positive self-esteem in students, assisting them to complete their educational program and achieve personal goals.
• Create and maintain positive, safe and supportive learning environments. 

3. Beliefs and Values
   The Board of Trustees has endorsed the following values in order to have a well-functioning School Division: team work, empathy, integrity, respect, trust, responsibility and humor should govern the interactions within the division and in relation to our external interactions.

4. Vision
   The following vision statements are intended to provide the standards that Palliser School Division should strive to achieve and maintain. These standards should serve as both the blueprint for our improvement efforts and the benchmarks by which we will evaluate our progress. Palliser Regional Schools is committed to engendering and supporting the values of the broader society: empathy, integrity, respect, trust and responsibility. If the children of this community are to realize these values, the division acknowledges its responsibility to provide an exemplary education. It can only do this by establishing a clear sense of the goals it is trying to accomplish, the characteristics of the schools it seeks to provide, and the contributions the various stakeholders must make in order to transform these ideals into reality.

5. Student Learning
   Palliser School Division, in the pursuit of excellence in providing educational services, believes that student learning is at the very heart of its vision. Therefore, the division will provide a learning environment based upon the best professional knowledge and educational research. Professionals within Palliser School Division design their classroom curricula and instructions to enable students to succeed at meeting established outcomes. In our pursuit of excellence for student learning, teachers and instructional leaders:

• Make curriculum and instruction decisions guided by specific, clearly stated and challenging outcomes for each grade level and subject.
• Ensure the essential core curriculum is addressed through the examination of scope and sequence from grade to grade and through alignment with the Program of Studies.
• Provide an assessment system that monitors academic progress of individual students and produces timely feedback to enhance learning.
• Employ instructional strategies that recognize individual learning styles and that are inherently engaging.
• Engage in systematic processes of analysis of learning, goal setting and the implementation of change strategies for the continuous improvement of student learning.

6. Leadership
   Palliser School Division, in the pursuit of excellence in providing educational services, requires effective leaders – leaders who are accessible by and attentive in their relationships with members of the school community; leaders who are collaborative team leaders and problem solvers in a context of mutual respect. Leaders within Palliser schools develop shared goals and strategies to reach the division’s vision of excellence. In our pursuit of excellence, our leaders:

• Promote, protect and champion the division’s vision on a daily basis.
• Model excellence by challenging students and staff to aspire to the highest level of achievement.
• Commit to continuous improvement encouraging the ongoing professional development essential to an improving school.
• Practice shared decision-making by seeking input from affected stakeholders for key decisions.
• Monitor the continuity of the curriculum.
• Develop a collaborative culture involving community, parents, personnel and students.

7. Personnel
   Palliser School Division, in the pursuit of excellence in providing educational services, believes that the quality of learning experiences students engage in is directly related to the personnel the division employs. Therefore, Palliser School Division is committed to recruiting and retaining outstanding individuals who will advance the division’s vision of excellence. In Palliser School Division, all staff members:

• Collaborate to set and achieve high standards of student learning and achievement.
• Model caring and respectful behaviors.
• Engage in continuous professional learning and improvement and are recognized by students, parents and the community as models of continuous learners.
• Are conscious of individual student needs and respond to these needs in a timely and accountable manner.
• Model good citizenship and caring, respectful behaviours.

8. School Climate
   Palliser School Division, in the pursuit of excellence in providing educational services, believes that student learning and achievement is enhanced in an environment that is safe, respectful and welcoming to all. Regardless of the locale, such an environment exemplifies pride, engaged energy and success. In locations where learning is to take place under the authority of Palliser School Division, personnel:

• Establish a program that teaches self-discipline and responsibility supporting a safe and orderly environment.
• Commit to providing an emotionally and physically safe and supportive environment.
• Celebrate the successes of all members of the school community.
• Engage in proactive measures to reduce the predictable behavior, or the physical characteristics that might diminish the safety and security of the working and learning environment.
• Observe division policies that establish fundamental rules and procedures for general behavior along with fair, consistent and appropriate consequences.

9. Community Relations
   Palliser School Division, in the pursuit of excellence in providing educational services, believes in community relationships that produce mutually beneficial and active partnerships that advance our division’s vision of excellence. Knowledge and respect for the local community’s characteristics and needs are recognized as vital elements in fostering and enhancing student learning. In our pursuit of excellence, we:

• Engage parents as active partners in educating their children, monitoring their academic progress, and emphasizing the importance of education and our shared commitment to lifelong learning.
• Develop a dialogue of communication focused on student learning and achievement.
• Partner with community members to provide resources – personnel, leadership, facilities, materials, equipment and time – enabling schools to offer programs of excellence.

10. Students
    Palliser School Division, in the pursuit of excellence in providing educational services, believes success in reaching its vision will be evident through the accomplishments, character and behavior of its students. Success will be measured by students who:

• Value learning and take responsibility for their learning, decisions and actions.
• Proudly and confidently strive to achieve their personal best.
• Conduct themselves in a way that contributes to a safe, orderly, positive school climate and ensures the rights of others.
• Contribute to the well-being and success of their community.
• Recognize themselves as partners, along with parents and teachers, in their own vision of educational excellence.
• Become good citizens and contribute to the well-being and on-going success of their community.

Scope and Limitations of Superintendent:

Board and Superintendent are to be guided by the direction put forward in the Strategic Plan. 

Information and Monitoring Requirements:

• Pillar report
• Audited Financial Statements
• Superintendent Evaluation
• Board and Trustee member Evaluations
• Surveys