BOW VALLEY – Canadian Rockies Public Schools (CRPS) is in the early stages of assessing its progress, setting goals and making plans to achieve its educational objectives for the fourth and final year of its four-year plan.
The school board is nearing the conclusion of its 2021-25 education plan and starting to map out the future for 2024-25, and 2025-29.
“I just want folks to know that’s the process to finish up the present four-year education plan and start moving toward a new one,” said CRPS superintendent Chris MacPhee during a Sept. 19 school board meeting.
The school board’s four-year plans are living documents based on performance results in its annual education results reports and input from consultations over the school year. CRPS uses its performance results to develop the plan and implement strategies contained within it to improve student learning and results.
An education results report for 2022-23 has not been released yet, but a draft plan for 2024-25 is expected to be presented to the board of trustees in January.
At its meeting last week, the board approved the plan’s development process for 2024-25, which will be heavy on stakeholder engagement with the board of trustees and CRPS’ educational leadership team.
Both groups will attend performance data workshops, reviewing the division’s core statements and shared vision for instructional excellence.
After presenting the draft of the four-year plan to the board in January, CRPS will begin an extensive 18-month consultation process to create the 2025-29 education plan, engaging students, parents, staff, and community and business partners.
“There will be more coming for the input from the public [and] students on a new [education] plan after this initial piece that will end in end of December, beginning into January,” said MacPhee.
The school board’s current four-year plan prioritizes health and wellness, engaged learning and student supports.
Specifically, it focuses on goals such as involving stakeholders in the creation of a four-year mental health strategic plan to support the mental well-being of students and staff; expanding real-world, applied learning opportunities for students of all ages; and closing achievement gaps for Indigenous students from K-12 using diverse learning methods.
CRPS formerly followed a three-year plan but transitioned to a four-year plan to allow for more comprehensive strategy development. The document shapes practices and guides CRPS’s work, undergoing annual review, updates, and modifications.
CRPS is comprised of about 2,400 students, 250 staff and seven schools in Canmore, Banff and Exshaw.
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