Meet the Teachers
- Gaston Comeau
- Peter Gallant
- Marie-Chantal Vanier
- John Cordukes
- Kim Lewis
- Blake Seward
- Pat Shedden
- David Hildebrand
- Patti Sebestyen
- Karen Douziech
- Betty MacLure
- Sherry Taylor
- Kevin Harrison
- Robert Heidbreder
- Jack Trovato
- Pascale Baillargeon
Gaston Comeau
Bridgewater Elementary School
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
Grade 5, French immersion, all subjects
Gaston Comeau believes that every child has unique abilities for learning, creating and communicating in the classroom. That belief has inspired Comeau to build and champion a challenging and comprehensive middle French immersion program. Students enter the program in Grade 4 and spend 75 percent of their instructional time learning in French, building their oral skills first, then moving on to proficiency in reading and writing. "Middle immersion isn't as well known as early or late immersion," he explains, "but I continue to defend it because it works."
Comeau uses a technique he calls "scaffolding learning" - designing today's lessons to build on yesterday's learning and the students' current knowledge. Students develop strong French oral communication skills as well as strong academic skills in small groups. Rotating workshops exploit the ability of children to learn from each other as well as the materials at hand: while Comeau works closely with one group on a task just beyond the group members' capabilities, other groups work on rotating, timed tasks.
Comeau pays special attention to mathematics and science instruction, both of which are particularly challenging in a second language (see "The ABCs of Student Videos") . His students have twice won the provincial science video competition sponsored by the Discovery Centre in Halifax.
Comeau is also a recognized leader in math education. He presents frequent mini-math workshops to fellow teachers, shares teaching strategies with his peers at provincial, national and international conferences, and serves on the Nova Scotia elementary mathematics leadership team. He also contributed to the French translation of the new provincial elementary mathematics curriculum.
Bridgewater Elementary School
130 York Street
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia B4V 1R3
Telephone: 902-541-8240
Fax: 902-541-8250
Email: comeaug@staff.ednet.ns.ca
Websites: www.bes.ednet.ns.ca
Peter Gallant
Summerside Intermediate School
Summerside, Prince Edward Island
Grades 7-9, instrumental music, social studies
"Unlike academics, music is something that has immediate relevance to students' lives," observes Peter Gallant. "It's always popular."
Since demand always exceeds supply in music courses, Gallant developed a comprehensive entry process to give the Grade 6 students from Summerside Intermediate's feeder schools equal opportunity to gain a space in his program. Each spring, Grade 9 students give performances for incoming students at the feeder schools. Then, interested students take a music aptitude test. Successful students know before they finish Grade 6 whether they will be one of Gallant's students the following year.
To build confidence, provide a compelling incentive to excel and create lasting mementos of the music program, Gallant records his students' performances. These recordings were first made on tape and then on CD at a small local production studio. A joint project between Summerside Intermediate's music and applied technology departments now allows students to record and produce professional-quality CDs of their performances at the school. This project and the school's extensive extracurricular band program enable Gallant to teach specific music skills, while also helping the students build important life skills: responsibility, self-confidence, dependability, time management and decision making.
The CD project has led to the creation of a SchoolNet GrassRoots project: a how-to website incorporating instrumental advice and tutorials as well as samples of digital recording in a school setting.
Gallant's students consistently achieve high standing at the Maritime Musicfest and are often invited to compete in the national Musicfest competition. His band program has also received a citation from the province and the City of Summerside Appreciation Award.
Summerside Intermediate School
247 Central Street
Summerside PE C1N 3M5
Telephone: 902-888-8470
Fax: 902-888-8469
Email: pggallant@edu.pe.ca
Websites: www.edu.pe.ca/sis
Marie-Chantal Vanier
École Lac-des-Fées
Gatineau, Quebec
Grades 1-6 for students with learning disabilities, all subjects
One of the first classes Marie-Chantal Vanier taught was very difficult. "No one else wanted this class because the kids had lost all respect for teachers and themselves," she recalls.
It turned out to be a very valuable experience. "I had to walk into that class, get them under control and then give them a taste for learning," explains Vanier.
What was true for her as a teacher is also true for students, says Vanier: life turns out differently from what it says in textbooks. "You have to deal with the job you have, the boss you have and, yes, even the courses you have. If we just teach kids how to deliver answers to artificial problems, we are cheating them."
In recent years, Vanier has been teaching students with learning disabilities. These children have had frustrating experiences with the education system and feel uncomfortable in school. She helps these students understand how to learn.
Dealing with real problems in this way helps kids learn to adjust to change, she explains. "A real problem, in school or in life, is one you don't know how to answer, so you have to teach yourself how to deal with it."
"Every student deserves to leave school with accumulated strengths they can draw on in the years ahead, when things don't go according to the book."
École Lac-des-Fées
4, rue Chapleau
Gatineau, Quebec J8Y 2K5
Telephone: 819-777-6889
Fax: 819-777-8278
Email: marie_chantal_vanier@hotmail.com
John Cordukes
Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West
Cobourg, Ontario
Grades 9-12, science, chemistry, biology, environmental science
Getting kids excited about science is what it is all about for John Cordukes. He uses innovative Web projects, field trips, interesting biology projects and contests to capture his students' interest and hook them into the lesson. He then teaches to heighten students' awareness of global environmental issues, to instil in them a sense of environmental social conscience and civic responsibility, and to help them understand that they are important and that what they are learning is valuable.
Cordukes shares his excitement and love of science with his students in any number of ways.
- The World Wide Biome Project brings students from around the world together virtually to share information about the flora and fauna of their areas and discuss various relevant ecological issues (see "World Wide Biome Project").
- Field trips to a nearby nuclear power plant, forests, streams, Ministry of Natural Resources offices and hospitals show science in action and science's relationship to daily life.
- Partnerships with Ministry of Natural Resources personnel and university research scientists give students authentic experiences of field work and data collection.
- Participation in science-related competitions and fairs challenges students to develop research, time management and teamwork skills, as well as increase their scientific knowledge. Students have scored in the 78th percentile in the University of Toronto biology contest and won gold medals at the Canada Wide Science Fair. In 2000, a Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West student was chosen to join the first student expedition to the Antarctic.
Cordukes extends his teaching beyond the classroom. He has developed and implemented environmental science courses at the school, coordinated the school's hosting of the board-wide science Olympics, and written articles on the use of digital cameras in science teaching and the World Wide Biome Project for Teach magazine.
Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West
135 King Street West
Cobourg, Ontario K9A 2M7
Telephone: 905-372-2191
Fax: 905-372-1155
Email: jcord@eagle.ca
Websites:
- Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West (www.cdciwest.com)
- The World Wide Biome Project (www2.kpr.edu.on.ca/cdciw/biomes/)
- Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West Science (www2.kpr.edu.on.ca/cdciw/science/)
Kim Lewis
John McGregor Secondary School
Chatham, Ontario
Grades 10-12, drama
The "Drama Mama" of John McGregor Secondary School sees opportunities where others see obstacles, and creates dramatic magic for her students every day.
There is a parallel between the relationship of actors and audience and that of teachers and students, Lewis says. She uses that relationship - and her abundant energy - to create effective learning for her students. She bases her program on a logical progression of concepts and responsibility from grade to grade, and insists on commitment, sincerity, personal responsibility and time management.
Lewis integrates the drama program with other disciplines through plays about historical events and socially relevant issues. For example, a recent dramatic production dedicated to Earth Day, which was presented at local elementary schools, integrated writing skills, science knowledge and dramatic abilities. In addition, art and construction technology students are recruited to design and create sets, family studies students produce costumes, and Lewis works closely with the school's dance teacher to include dance in many drama productions.
Always looking for ways to inspire her students to even greater heights, Lewis makes full use of the information and communications technology available at the school, enlisting technology students to videotape her students' performances. These videotapes are a valuable resource for students to review their work, analyze their performance and develop ways to improve. Drama students also use the communications department's facilities to produce professional-quality billboards, programs and flyers.
Under Lewis's guidance, the drama program at John McGregor Secondary School has tripled in size and many students go on to excel in post-secondary drama programs. Students also achieve success at the Sears Drama Festival and other drama festivals.
John McGregor Secondary School
300 Cecile Avenue
Chatham, Ontario N7M 2C6
Telephone: 519-354-1740
Fax: 519-354-2947
Email: jmssdramamama@hotmail.com
Websites: http://jmss.lkdsb.net
Blake Seward
Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute
Smiths Falls, Ontario
Grades 9-OAC, history
"Teaching is not a career, it's a life. And the more you put into your life, the more you'll get out of it," says Blake Seward.
Known as the "Flag Man" for all the flags hanging from the ceiling of his classroom or "Mr. History" because of his contagious enthusiasm for his subject, Seward brings history to life for his students with innovative projects, interesting field trips and engaging classroom discussions.
He created the Lest We Forget project in partnership with the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Archives (see "Lest We Forget"). Students research primary source material and create detailed reports about World War I soldiers.
Rather than using a commercial travel agent to arrange the annual class trip to the battlefields of Gettysburg, Seward develops the itinerary, books the individual tours with known tour guides, and takes care of all the travel arrangements himself. This allows him to tailor both the trip and his advance teaching to maximize enjoyment and learning for his students. Classroom discussions examine the battles, the leaders and the terrain. Students study the U.S. Civil War in a national and international context, and see how the past has shaped the present.
The trip is the best attended extracurricular activity the school offers. During the 2002 trip, Seward mentioned that Confederate soldiers had walked the same ground barefoot and under fire. Inspired by their teacher's account, half a dozen boys removed their boots for their tour of the battleground.
Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute's history department has grown under Seward's leadership to be one of the largest departments in the school. He has redesigned and reintroduced the American history course, overseen the development of world issues and world religions courses, and written curricula for several history courses, and is planning to launch a senior-level philosophy course.
Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute
2 Gould Street
Smiths Falls, Ontario K7A 2S5
Telephone: 613-283-0288
Fax: 613-283-0461
Email: sewardb@smail.ucdsb.on.ca
Websites: www.sfdci.smithsfalls.com/
Pat Shedden
Queensville Public School
Queensville, Ontario
Grades 3 and 4, special education for autistic students
Pat Shedden wants to ensure that special needs students are understood, accepted and celebrated in their struggle to become one with themselves and the world around them.
She has pioneered a specialized program for students in grades 3 and 4, all of whom have autism and several of whom also have other conditions, such as Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder or attention deficit disorder. With two educational assistants, Shedden creates and implements individualized education plans, a highly modified program and detailed strategies to help students make as much academic progress as possible as well as learn vital social and personal skills.
Individual, theme-based learning uses a child's particular interest, such as pirates or trains, to teach academic subjects, such as mathematics and language arts. Computer-aided journalling, social story scripts and learning games address autistic children's need for multisensory stimuli and help improve their oral communication skills. Students demonstrate strong and significant gains in communication, academics and social skills, and in life skills and behaviour, offering hope for future school and life successes.
Shedden networks with special education teachers and educational assistants to share strategies, successes and challenges. She has presented workshops on teaching autistic children, including, recently, on using Beanie Babies to support learning across the curriculum (see "B is for Beanie Baby").
Queensville Public School
20317 Leslie Street
Queensville, Ontario L0G 1R0
Telephone: 905-478-4191
Fax: 905-478-4047
Email: patshedden@teacher.com
David Hildebrand
Garden Valley Collegiate
Winkler, Manitoba
Grades 9-12, business education, software applications
There are few careers in which every day is a new day, observes David Hildebrand, but in teaching there's always something new to learn and some new opportunity to explore. As a business education and software applications teacher, Hildebrand finds new challenges every day in providing opportunities for community and business partnerships that benefit student learning and provide future employment opportunities.
Hildebrand creates student-centred learning opportunities whenever possible. One notable example is his M-Learning project (see "Personal Digital Assistants in School"), which provides personal digital assistants to students to aid in note-taking, project research, management and collaboration.
To further student-centred learning, Hildebrand organized the Educators of Business and Information Technology Special Area Group conference - the first high tech conference for business education teachers held in rural Manitoba. The Digitized Winkler Technology Conference gave his students the opportunity to hear from leaders in business and technology and explore career options in the field. These events proved to be a powerful and inspiring learning experience for his students.
The Garden Valley Collegiate Webmasters Group, which Hildebrand organized, produces web pages highlighting school programs, activities and special events. As student interest and involvement in the extracurricular program grew, Hildebrand developed a Web design course to teach foundational skills for entrepreneurial opportunities and employment in the technology sector.
Hildebrand has taught at summer teacher training institutes in Manitoba on several topics, including the personal digital assistant project, and has led numerous workshops for the Manitoba Association of Computer Educators and the Educators of Business and Information Technology in the past 10 years.
Garden Valley Collegiate
736 Main Street
Winkler, Manitoba R6W 4C8
Telephone: 204-325-8008
Fax: 204-325-5894
Email: dhildebr@gvsd.mb.ca
Websites: http://gvc.gvsd.mb.ca
Patti Sebestyen
Opening Doors Program
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Grades 8-12, all subjects in an alternative school setting
There are no un-teachable students, insists Patti Sebestyen. Anyone can be taught when he or she is willing to learn, and every child has the right to an education. Sebestyen has made her mark in Saskatoon working with the students everyone else calls "incorrigible," "delinquent" and "un-teachable."
In her 30 years of teaching, she has initiated several thriving alternative education programs in Saskatoon, most recently the Opening Doors Program, designed for chronically truant students. Sebestyen displays exemplary skills in working with students who have had little or no success within the regular school system. Each of the 15 students enrolled in the Opening Doors Program has an individualized education plan, developed and managed by Sebestyen. She is constantly adapting the provincial curriculum to meet the needs of her students, while still maintaining curriculum expectations.
She employs perceptual control theory (see "It's Under Control") and role-playing to help students learn to think critically, act logically, listen, understand and communicate effectively.
Sebestyen wins the trust and confidence of these troubled youths by creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere complete with a hot lunch, providing firm yet patient guidance and arranging for frequent visitors from the community. Many students turn their lives around, achieving near perfect attendance records. While some only complete Grade 10 and then find employment, others return to regular high school, continue their studies in post-secondary institutions and find full-time employment after graduation. "The point of the school isn't about meeting the status quo or achieving the magical Grade 12 but helping students figure out who they want to be, where they want to go and what role they find in society that will make them functioning members. It is about figuring out how to become the best person they can become," explains Sebestyen.
Sebestyen established a summer employment program for students in partnership with a local youth centre, and regularly leads professional development workshops for teachers working with at-risk youth.
Opening Doors Program
142A 2nd Avenue North
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 2B2
Telephone: 306-668-7890
Fax: 306-668-7891
Email: psebestyen@scs.sk.ca
Karen Douziech
McNally High School
Edmonton, Alberta
Grade 12, English; grades 10-12, International Baccalaureate English, theatre appreciation
Karen Douziech wants to stimulate students to think critically and analytically, and to challenge and get personally involved in the literature they are studying. "I want kids to be thinkers," she says.
She fosters student thinking through an innovative Grade 10 novel study program called "literature circles" (see "Novel Study in the Round"). This teaching strategy is so successful that it is now standard in the school's English department, and Douziech presented it at the provincial language arts council conference in 2001.
Constantly searching out new approaches to enhance the curriculum and her students' learning experiences, Douziech implemented a new unit of study with special emphasis on literature of the American and Canadian West. Working with a fellow teacher, she created study material for Cormac McCarthy's novel All the Pretty Horses, and plays by Canadian playwrights Sharon Pollock (Walsh) and Michael Healey (The Drawer Boy).
Douziech broadens student thinking by developing programs that complement English-language arts courses. For example, she designed a class that is offered in conjunction with the Students' Club at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton (see "Learning the Lines") to teach theatre study and appreciation. This program is now a model for other schools in the district.
High rates of both enrolment and attendance attest that Douziech's innovative teaching methods and dynamic personality make hers some of the most popular classes and courses in the school. Her students excel in provincial diploma exams, with a close to 100 percent pass rate.
Douziech is a recipient of Alberta's English Language Arts Council Teacher Merit Award.
McNally High School
8440-105 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta T6A 1B6
Telephone: 780-469-0442
Fax: 780-465-5958
Email: Karen.Douziech@epsb.ca
Websites: www.mcnallyhigh.com
Betty MacLure
Wainwright Elementary School
Wainwright, Alberta
Grade 2, all subjects
It is the interaction of minds that gets Betty MacLure excited about teaching. That is why she emphasizes effective communication in her classroom. Students must have the ability to communicate effectively, she says. "Communication involves not only sharing your ideas, but also hearing the ideas of others and gaining knowledge from the experience."
MacLure facilitates effective communication in her class by using a microphone headset connected to speakers, which allows her to easily distinguish lessons to the entire class from conversations with an individual student, and ensures that everyone hears her clearly.
She teaches communication skills by drawing on the interactive learning potential of computers and other communications technology whenever possible. Collaborative Internet-based projects put her students in touch with students and teachers in Alberta and around the world (see "Comparing Communities … Emailing with Keypals!").
MacLure improves students' communication skills through a number of interesting and exciting reading and writing exercises, such as answering a "mystery question" left on the board every night, and preparing reports about storybook characters, such as those from There's a Snake in the Toilet by Gisela Tobien Shermann.
An after-school enrichment club run by MacLure offers students learning challenges in a variety of disciplines. Students cultivate their creativity and expand their learning through projects such as building robotic bugs and battery-operated wooden cars. The club is so popular that it has a waiting list of students wishing to join, and parents enrol their children at Wainwright Elementary to take part in it.
MacLure has recently completed her master's of education in educational technology. She acts as computer technician and network manager at Wainwright Elementary and has instituted the Technology on Thursdays training program for her fellow staff members.
Wainwright Elementary School
905-10 Street
Wainwright, Alberta T9W 2R6
Telephone: 780-842-3361
Fax: 780-842-6499
Email: bettmacl@wes.btrd.ab.ca
Websites: www.btrd.ab.ca/wainelem/
Sherry Taylor
George H. Luck School
Edmonton, Alberta
Grade 5, all subjects
Sherry Taylor finds that when students are supported and encouraged to take responsibility for their learning and behaviour, they rise to the challenge and are inspired and strengthened by discovering their capability.
With this firmly in mind, Taylor employs a variety of effective settings and techniques to develop responsibility for learning, build relationships of trust in the classroom and motivate students to learn. Magic, animals and plants in the classroom capture students' interest, demonstrate science concepts and provide opportunities for taking responsibility. Role-playing brings lessons to life as students interview fictional characters, act out the molecular nature of surface tension and re-create historical periods. Guest speakers share their expertise and experience on topics ranging from nuclear physics to the plight of orphans in Ethiopia.
Taylor is convinced that a deep connection with the environment is part of being whole. She has acted on this philosophy by developing an outdoor classroom in the schoolyard, complete with rocks, native shrubs, trees and water in four natural mini-ecosystems. At every opportunity, she teaches outside the traditional classroom and even exchanges indoor Christmas and Easter parties for outdoor adventures.
Not happy with the commercially available student agendas, Taylor developed her own, to help students plan, organize and record their work. She also clearly sets criteria for success, and gives her students goal-setting exercises and regular team challenges to help them develop organization skills, independence and teamwork. Many students follow habits of time management and organization learned in Taylor's class through the rest of their school careers.
Taylor shares her teaching expertise through presentations and articles in Alberta Educator and other educational publications. She has been awarded the ACT to Follow Teaching Award from the Edmonton school board, and local and provincial teaching awards.
George H. Luck School
300 Bulyea Road
Edmonton, Alberta T6R 2L4
Telephone: 780-438-5011
Fax: 780-430-6047
Email: sherry.taylor@epsb.ca
Websites: http://gluck.epsb.ca
Kevin Harrison
Timberline Senior Secondary
Campbell River, British Columbia
Grade 10-12, media studies, career preparation; also vice-principal of rural education
and alternate delivery
"If you put the kids first, everything else will fall into place," says Kevin Harrison. He uses this philosophy to design programs and projects to positively affect school culture and motivate students to become engaged in their learning.
Harrison creates interest and motivation to learn by providing relevant learning opportunities and real-life experience for his students. For example, he developed the media studies course at Timberline to give students a firsthand look at creating live television programming. In-school live broadcasts produced by the students replace the bells and the public address system of a traditional school. Students earn double credits for television projects integrated with other disciplines (see "Lights, Camera, Announcements?").
Harrison accepts requests to produce videos from organizations outside the school, such as the United Way, and assigns the projects to students with related interests (see "The ABCs of Student Videos"). Students win awards at provincial and national competitions and move from Harrison's courses to work on professional film sets and in television, and to set up their own businesses.
Since he believes that school culture is as important as a school's academic standards, Harrison has taken steps to build and improve school culture. A program based on effective behaviour support increases a sense of social responsibility, and initial reports showed that during the first quarter the program was in place office referrals were down by about 50 percent in the Grade 10 population (see "Building School Culture").
Harrison has won the Marshall McLuhan Distinguished Teacher Award and the Hilroy National Award for Outstanding Merit in Educational Innovation. He is the associate director of the Canadian International Annual Film Festival and has been instrumental in developing the British Columbia Student Film Festival and the Campbell River Festival of Films in partnership with the Toronto International Film Festival.
Timberline Senior Secondary
1681 South Dogwood Street
Campbell River, British Columbia V9W 8C1
Telephone: 250-923-9500
Fax: 250-923-9525
Email: kevin.harrison@crcn.net
Websites: www.sd72.bc.ca/timber
Robert Heidbreder
General Gordon Elementary School
Vancouver, British Columbia
Grade 1, all subjects
Feeling safe is a fundamental requirement for learning, says Robert Heidbreder. We take risks in learning when we are feeling confident, he explains.
Heidbreder creates a friendly, welcoming and safe environment and stimulates children's innate desire for fun and adventure with song, poetry and puppets. Dozens of puppets entertain, introduce study units, inspire adventures and provide examples of behaviour (both good and bad!) to Heidbreder's captivated students (see "His Teaching Assistants are Puppets"). For example, Doris and Morris, two soft-spoken spiders, appear in the fall when spider webs cover lawns and gardens. The spiders share their tricks for spinning a web and set the children off on an adventure to discover the science, history, geography and poetry of spiders.
Heidbreder sparks learning with many other unique teaching strategies as well. Daily letters addressed to the class - sometimes marked "Children Only" - contain clues for the day's adventure. These letters not only develop children's budding reading skills, but they also lead the students into problem solving and cooperative teamwork, and help them develop early research skills. Nature studies involve students in monthly trips to a nearby forest to observe seasonal changes, study plants and track weather. An annual family camping trip takes children and parents to a nearby lodge for outdoor adventure and overnight camping. The trip, often the children's first experience away from home, opens the students' eyes to the wonder and mystery of the world and becomes the inspiration for many classroom activities.
Heidbreder is also a famous and well-loved children's author. He has published four books of children's poetry and one rhyming narrative picture book. Heidbreder is listed in the Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada and the Junior Encyclopedia of Canada.
General Gordon Elementary School
2896 West 6th Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia V6K 1X1
Telephone: 604-713-5403
Fax: 604-713-5405
Email: mrobinson@vsb.bc.ca
Websites: http://gordon.vsb.bc.ca/
Jack Trovato
Alpha Secondary School
Burnaby, British Columbia
Grades 8-12, drama
Jack Trovato sees drama education as a way to encourage students to think critically, care deeply, act wisely and fulfil their individual potential. "Drama gets them ready to meet the future as educated citizens and productive members of society," he says.
Trovato makes the most of opportunities to help his students develop by focussing the school's drama courses on exploration and imagination, drama skills, and context, all of which are applicable to later life, not just the performing arts. Since skill development requires assessment and feedback - which is difficult to deliver in a subjective discipline such as drama - Trovato has devised specific criterion-based evaluation and holistic rubrics for student assessment (see "Evaluating the Dramatic Moment").
To showcase knowledge, skills and attitudes learned in class, Trovato founded an extra- and co-curricular theatre company. The company performs in three to five school-wide theatre productions each year, and placed in the top three rankings over the last three years in the interdistrict Metropolitan Theatre Festival and second at the 24-hour Film Contest (as the only student entry).
Despite limited resources, Trovato also provides students with leading-edge tools, techniques and instruction in various aspects of filmmaking to take advantage of growing Hollywood North employment opportunities in the Vancouver area. Students have been interviewed by major film companies and become involved in community theatre groups.
In his four years at Alpha Secondary School, enrolment has soared, the scope and quality of drama productions have increased, and the school is now recognized as a leader in the performing arts in the Burnaby school district.
Drama educators throughout the school district have adopted Trovato's evaluation tools. To further improve the calibre of drama education in his district, Trovato has also developed a system to facilitate sharing of curricula and learning material among drama educators.
Alpha Secondary School
4600 Parker Street
Burnaby, British Columbia V5C 3E2
Telephone: 604-664-8535
Fax: 604-664-8541
Email: jack_trovato@telus.net
Websites: www.alphasecondary.com
Pascale Baillargeon
Qaqqalik School
Kimmirut, Nunavut
Grades 10-12, math, science and social studies-related courses as required by enrolment
Pascale Baillargeon has found the place where she fits: in the North, where she can broaden students' awareness of themselves as individuals, as members of northern communities and as Inuit, while also exposing them to other Canadian cultures. She moved to Kimmirut when Qaqqalik School began extending its program to include grades 10, 11 and 12. Prior to that, high school students left the community for Iqaluit's regional high school.
While her course load depends on the number, ages and interests of students at the school each year, Baillargeon always ensures that the curriculum is relevant and reflects her students' lives, at the same time incorporating the academic requirements of the modern world. She teaches science and biology using local materials, and created a small student-run business to teach math skills, retail sales skills and public relations (see "Open Doors, Open Minds: Community-based Education"). Baillargeon identifies creative solutions for shop projects, recycling packing crates from the annual sea-lift (which brings a year's worth of provisions to the community) to build community sheds, for example.
With the extension of high school grades at Qaqqalik School, community high school graduation rates have increased to an average of five to eight students a year, with high school attendance increasing to 85 to 90 percent of the local teenagers.
Baillargeon's 10 years of experience teaching in the North have enabled her to contribute to the development of Nunavut's high school science curriculum, integrating required science curriculum with traditional knowledge. For example, the projects related to science camps in the northern context include dissecting caribou, seal and arctic char, as well as data collection and methodology activities.
Qaqqalik School
General Delivery
Kimmirut NU X0A 0N0
Telephone: 867-939-2221
Fax: 867-939-2334