Ops Talk Magazine Spring 2015

Message from the British Columbia Association of School Business Officials (BCASBO)

Building capacity and relationships in school district business As public education adjusts to shifting demographics and the evolving personalized learning environment, school business officials will be an integral part of the future success of British Columbia’s students. BCASBO is committed to working with our partners in education to retain and improve relationships in our business as well as develop leaders for the future. Our partners include trustees, parents, teachers, support workers, school administrators, superintendents and the Ministry of Education. We cannot assume that leadership skills are a given competency within BCASBO. These skills must be identified and a learning environment must be established so that BCASBO members can continue to participate in shaping the future of public education in B.C. BCASBO has designed a leadership series to address and enhance leadership competency within the organization’s membership. The association has just completed our third leadership series, “Preparing to Lead an Educational System in a 3.0 World”. In our program, participants

gain an in-depth understanding of our school systems and its working relationships locally, provincially and globally as it moves towards education and business practice that is relevant in the 21st century. The program allows participants to engage in leadership development that includes essential management competencies seen through the lens of quality leadership. Speakers from the B.C. public school sector who are leaders in their fields of expertise explore with the participants on leading edge topics of education innovation, accountability, communication, governance and skill development for budget and facility planning. The group explores new and emerging leadership theory and practice with ample time to connect and apply this work in a school district context. The final session includes presentations by groups of participants on how the leadership competencies inform and support their role in the education sector and the community in which they work. The association also looks to this leadership program and other profes-

sional development activities to have participants gain the skills and strategies needed to build purposeful relationships and to better understand the culture and context of education in B.C. The association is holding a conference from May 20 to 22, which will focus on relationships in our sector. It reflects our commitment to prioritize business decisions on supporting the learning agenda and the association’s work to maintain and enhance relationships with the other partners in education. The conference will include a session where we hear from our education partners about how to build better relationships, what is working and not and how best to move forward as partners with education innovation in public education. The province of B.C. held a forum in January where the Minister of Education invited business leaders, post-secondary educators, public education students, teachers, administrators and business officials to hear from international education experts and discuss B.C.’s innovation strategy. BCASBO will also join other educa-

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Ops Talk • Spring 2015

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