There are no typical students

Brian O'Leary (Superintendent of Winnipeg's Seven Oaks School Division) led four of his recent graduates through a fascinating panel discussion of their personal triumphs over the challenges they faced throughout their high school experiences.

• Brian O’Leary’s student panelist introductions
  Audio mp3 (6:17 minutes, 6 MB)
• Student panellists comment on teachers who made a difference
  Audio mp3 (3:48 minutes, 5 MB)
• Student panellists comment on the things they valued most about high school
  Audio mp3 (6:08 minutes, 4 MB)
• Student panellists offer ideas about how schools can get it right for adolescent learners
  Audio mp3 (5:08 minutes, 4 MB)
• Brian O’Leary's summary comments
  Audio mp3 (6:31 minutes, 6 MB)
• Full student panel discussion
  Audio mp3 (49:21 minutes, 46 MB)

Letting the student voices guide you

Kathy Gould Lundy (coordinator of Destination Arts at York University) shares her thoughts on the creation and preparation of the Imagine a School... student engagement project and as a lead-in to the Student Voices video she presented to the audience.

• Kathy Gould Lundy's presentation
  Audio mp3 (23:02 minutes, 23 MB)

Learning to think is a skill

Leaders from Winnipeg's business, media and social policy sectors offered their thoughts on what young people today need to know and be able to do.

• Winnipeg Free Press columnist Lindor Reynolds' opening remarks: "Learning to think is a skill"
  Audio mp3 (7:47 minutes, 7MB)
• Panellists respond to a question from People for Education Executive Director Annie Kidder: "How do we expand and how we measure student assessments so that we can know we are being successful?"
  Audio mp3 (6:42 minutes, 6 MB)
• Full panel discussion
  Audio mp3 (53:31 minutes, 50 MB)

Additional resources:

• September 2004 Poverty Barometer - Summer Learning Loss from the Winnipeg Social Planning Council

How students would design a school

Sharon Friesen (co-founder and president of the Galileo Educational Network) offers a preliminary look at student feedback gathered in two Design a School... workshops on how they would improve learning environments for today's young people.

• Sharon Friesen's Designing a School presentation
  Audio mp3 (36:03 minutes, 34 MB)
  Presentation slides (PDF - 30 MB)

Additional resources:

• Presentation by Sharon Friesen and Pat Clifford, co-founders of the Galileo Educational Network, at CEA's 2006 Symposium in Vancouver, BC
  I hold in my hand a bird
• Do Marks Matter? A conversation with Sharon Friesen about educational standards on CBC Radio's Sunday Edition

Finding "the meaning" for students

Teacher Alysha Sloane (Gordon Bell High School — Winnipeg) delivered a poignant and insightful presentation on how teachers can successfully engage students in their own learning.

• Alysha Sloane's presentation, Not Another Brick in the Wall: Student Engagement
  Audio and PowerPoint presentation (20:04 minutes, 20 MB)

Leading the changes we need at the District level

panellists from Saskatoon Public School Board, Evergreen School Division, and the Vancouver School Board discuss their efforts to improve learning for adolescents, and to engage students, teachers and parents in this process.

• Vancouver School Board Superintendent Chris Kelly discusses the importance of acknowledging the full personhood of adolescents, rather than seeing them as "adults in training."
  Audio mp3 (2:39, 3 MB)
• panellists respond to a question from People for Education Executive Director Annie Kidder: "How do we excite and engage parents in these efforts to change schools?"
  Audio mp3 (5:43, 5 MB)
• Full panel discussion
  Audio mp3 (55:26, 52 MB)

Additional resources:

• Manitoba School Improvement Program (MSIP)
• Leadership as the Practice of Improvement (PDF) by Richard F. Elmore
• Vancouver School Board Learning and Development Initiative
• Gervase Bushe Faculty Page at Simon Fraser University School of Business