New Administrative Structure for School Board Offices

Teachers, principals, schools and others working to provide students with a quality education will get stronger support from senior school board staff with a new administrative structure.

The regulations that define the new structure were released today, Sept. 19.

"Our Learning for Life Plan is designed to help all students succeed and enjoy a strong future. This new structure is very much part of that plan," said Education Minister Jamie Muir. "It will put senior school board staff in a better position to support teachers, principals and others so students benefit from quality education programs and services."

The new model means there will be consistency in job titles and functions across the boards and that people's roles will be clarified. For example, staff at the school boards who are there to support teachers in the classroom can do so without the distraction of also being responsible for non-educational matters like purchasing or maintaining computer equipment. The new structure will clarify that it should be administration and other staff who look after these types of support responsibilities.

The new structure will also enable principals to shift more attention from administration to educational leadership in their schools, and enhance support for school board members and School Advisory Councils.

"It is timely to review the administrative structures that have evolved in each school board since the boards' amalgamated more than seven years ago," said Jim Gunn, superintendent, Annapolis Valley Regional School Board and member of the Administrative Structure for Senior School Board Staff Sub-Committee. "I believe that we were able to find a balance between recognizing the uniqueness of each board and the strength in having some consistency across the province with the goal to enhance student learning."

Each school board will have a superintendent and four directors. Each of the directors will oversee one of the following sections: programs and student services; operational services; financial services; human resource services. All staff will continue to report to their school board.

The new structure will vary slightly for the pilot structure school boards in the southwest and the strait areas, which have a director of education position and a CEO.

Many school boards already have elements of the new model in place.

School board superintendents, directors of education, CEOs and their senior staff were consulted on what should be in the new structure and the implementation plan.

The new model is flexible, to accommodate differences between school boards including the number of students and schools that each board serves as well as those that are geographically diverse like the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial.

All school boards have until the end of the 2004-05 school year to implement the changes. This should minimize disruption to staff and programs as well as avoid extra costs. The boards can phase in the changes over time but all school boards must actively work toward the model.

The department will evaluate the new structure's effectiveness regularly, starting next spring.