ATM: Quality Education for a Strong Community and Future
Parents place a great deal of trust in our schools every day.
They trust that their child will feel welcomed, valued, and connected within their classroom and school community — a foundation that supports both well-being and learning. Parents look to schools to provide learning and support that allows their child to grow, discover their interests, and reach their full potential.
Schools, and the teams within them, carry responsibility for a broad range of important work, including:
- Nurturing the positive well-being of children
- The ongoing delivery of quality teaching and learning
- The development of student interests
- Meeting student needs
- Supporting a positive culture of learning
- Developing a sense of community and citizenship within each classroom and school
Quality education also includes a commitment to professional learning and professional growth. It requires trained professionals working directly with children and youth in classrooms each day. Quality education requires well-maintained facilities that meet occupational health and safety standards, along with reliable technology infrastructure that supports learners, educators, families, and systems that assure privacy protection and support school operations.
Quality education is both complex and deeply important. It provides a foundational service to society and helps shape the future of our communities:
- Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders, employees, business owners, entrepreneurs, and parents.
- Schools provide families with confidence that their children are safe, supported, and cared for throughout the day while parents and guardians' work.
- A literate and numerate population is essential to a strong and well-functioning society.
- Critical thinking skills contribute to informed participation in a healthy and functional democracy.
- Collaboration, communication, decision making, and time management skills continue to positive futures.
- Respect for self and others helps create a safe and caring community at large.
Quality education is the north star of a strong society and a strong future for our children.
As quality education is a common experience, it can be both a blessing and a curse. Because so many parents, grandparents, and community members have attended school, it can be easy to assume how schools operate, what schools should teach, or how students are to be successful. Such a perspective diminishes the expertise and professionalism of the skilled and experienced people who work within school systems to support students.
If there is a constant in life, it is that everything changes; and schools also change. Schools and school systems are now more accountable than ever to the communities and provinces they serve. We agree, and align with, the legislative mandates that require a high level of professionalism and adherence to continuous improvement.
Well trained, credentialed, knowledgeable staff across all roles, committed to continuous learning and improvement, are the foundation of quality education. The expertise required to effectively support students, families, and school communities is significant and should not be underestimated. This work matters deeply.
This matters because schools help sustain a literate, informed, and engaged society that creates opportunities for individuals to pursue their goals and aspirations. The future of our communities depends on our students.
And it matters because parents place trust in our schools every day.
Yours in learning,
Chris Fuzessy,
Superintendent of Schools
