A new dawn in Sunrise

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/10/2015 (3520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sunrise School Division is starting anew with one new face and two familiar colleagues leading the charge from their central office.

Following a sweeping provincial review that ordered the school division to restore public trust following the sudden departure of several senior administrators, that blemish more than a year ago seems like a distant memory in conversation with the Sunrise’s new education bosses.

There were issues in the past, the province found, but all 16 recommendations are being worked toward and Sunrise has come out better for it, their new administrators say.

Sunrise’s newly-minted superintendent, Barb Isaak, knew a bit about the struggles the division has wrestled through but it was the people here that always shone through for her.

“What I had heard from when the superintendency was advertised was the really, really good people that were in the schools. Your administrators, your teachers, doing really good things with kids, and I heard that there was a board that was interested in change.”

She comes from River East Transcona School Division, where she happily worked for the past 26 years, since 2003 as its assistant superintendent.

She was looking for an opportunity to challenge herself.

“I know people who send their children to school in Sunrise School Division and had so many positive things to say about what was happening in terms of their child’s education,” said Isaak.

“Whatever had happened in the past, people wanted it to get better and they wanted to be known as a really, really good school division, that’s their area of focus. If I can be a support in that, that interests me.”

That’s the same feeling displayed by the two new assistant superintendents, with a love of education to boot.

There’s Cathy Tymko, who most recently worked as an educational support advisor at the division the last three years. Her new role as assistant superintendent of learning and instruction is comparable, where she will again work on educational programming. Now, she oversees the instruction, programming and learning happening within Sunrise.

“It’s a pretty good gig,” she said. “It’s the fun piece of education.”

Meanwhile, Lesley Trudel, formerly the division principal of student support programs, has been promoted to assistant superintendent of student support services, where she manages the assistance the division provides to struggling kids, and on the flip side the students that need to be challenged more.

“My role is to ensure no matter what those challenges are that eventually everyone is successful and gets their needs met and meets their goals,” she said.

Together, the three women are entering their first fall in their new roles. They are very much a team.

“That’s one of the fun parts about being on a new team is that you get to really look at all the things that we do with a new set of eyes,” said Tymko.

Isaak has connections to southeastern Manitoba. She grew up in Steinbach, and it’s an upbringing she has drawn back on lately.

“It gives you an added perspective as an educator, working in a rural environment versus being in an urban environment,” she said. “There’s an appreciation for distances.”

The province’s review made 16 recommendations, ranging from re-staffing the central office in Beausejour to better communication with the public, all of which are well on their way, said Isaak. A new report must be submitted before Christmas time.

A person has been put in charge of human resources and four program leaders are now employed to provide support to teachers.

A major focus of Isaak and her administrative colleagues is the implementation of Sunrise’s education plan, unveiled earlier this year.

The four areas of interest are the development of active learners engaged in their education, improved literacy, better numeracy and an eye on students becoming socially responsible citizens.

“I’m so excited to have the opportunity to work with these people as they delve further into their education plan and as we continue to meet the final requirements of that report,” said Isaak, “but then to really continue with good practices being put in place.”

Republished from the Oct. 8 edition of The Carillon.