Tisdale School Division signs partner deal with
RM of Tisdale, Credit Union and Metis Nation of Saskatchewan

 
FTLComm -Tisdale - Tuesday, October 22, 2002
There is no doubt whatever that the nature of education, even what the word education means, has changed dramatically in this last decade. Tisdale School Division has devoted a good deal of energy to understanding what these changes mean and how best to cope with them. A strategy that seems to have enormous potential for the school system and for the communities it serves is the concept of partnering. Realising that for the work of the educational system, to be relative, there needs to be an ongoing and mutual cooperation between the community's businesses and agencies, the school division has recognised its need to be the service provider, willing to work in the communities to provide the kind of preparation people need to work and live successfully in the changing climate of today.

Last year the Division and Tisdale Middle and Secondary School established the Student Support Centre with its emphasis on integration of entrepreneurial efforts and individual educational development. The Centre has been located in the back of the Town Office, but there was a need to raise the profile and prestige of the project so that students and the public as a whole, recognise the meaningful and positive nature of this form of "outreach" educational development.
 
 

Tuesday afternoon the formal signing of an agreement to develop a storefront operation in the middle of downtown Tisdale was the order of the day. Considerable planning and negotiations have gone on to bring the various parties together to create a working relationship that is needed to purchase the property, fit it out to provide the services it is intended to provide and place in the facility the hardware and software that will make advanced upgrading and adult training, that will support both Tisdale and its surround area.
 

 

On hand for the signing of the agreement was the pleasant and always charming
Glenn Hagel Provincial minister of Post Secondary, skills training, career and employment programmes all found within his ministry of Social Services.

Directory of Education Tim Tarala outlined the concept that has become more and more obvious
 
 

to he and the Tisdale School Division during the five years he has served the board. He explained the need to work together and project the needs of the students forward, taking into consideration their specific needs and special circumstances.

To illustrate his point Mr. Tarala played the six minute video the School Division has developed call "
Classroom Community Connections" which illustrates the Division's efforts to work with agencies and business in projects that will benefit the students and people of the jurisdiction.

The Honourable Glenn Hagel address the gathering telling them about his own experiences of only a few minutes ago as he spent time visiting and talking to the students in the Student Support Centre. He was moved by the motivation the students showed and said that their determination and realisation of positive goals from post secondary and apprenticeship training, suggested that given the atmosphere and encouragement, these young people were definitely going to take positive steps in their lives.

He told of a recent meeting of ministers of other provinces who have similar duties to his own and how he had been discussing with them some of the unique aspects of Saskatchewan educational programming, as the province as a whole, is looking to work with its communities in providing advantages for students of all types. He was somewhat taken back when it was explained to him by the other ministers, that perhaps what Saskatchewan was attempting may be very unique to Saskatchewan, because of its long and well developed tradition of people and agencies sharing and working together. He said that he was forced to agree with them, as he had grown up in Alberta, attended college in Manitoba and chooses to live and raise his family in "the province of his choice", Saskatchewan. Mr. Hagel lives in Moose Jaw.
 
 
The partners in this new deal for this facility, which is now named the Student Support Centre, but the opportunity for students to choose a suitable name will be open to them (the illustration on this page has that name on the building just for this page to help illustrate the point) include the Rural Municipality of Tisdale with their Reeve, Mr. Mann present for the signing, the Tisdale Credit Union with their chairman and manager at the table and the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan with a member of their board and the Executive director Ryan Calder.

This is an important project for the School Division as we know that students frequently fall through the conventional school setting and everyone knows today that the technological level of the business and employment world, can not cope with people who lack education. This facility will have the ability to provide learning opportunities, the opportunity to develop life skills, business sense and the Metis Nation will provide the extensive "Pathfinder" hardware and software package that permits individualised self paced learning experience.
 
 

Timothy W. Shire


 

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Editor : Timothy W. Shire
Faster Than Light Communication
Box 1776, Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, S0E 1T0
306 873 2004