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When the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ was created through the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA), it held a strong promise: an education system for our people, created by our people, that reflected who we are and where we were going as ᐄᔨᔨᐅᒡ.
To fulfill that promise, it is critical that we strengthen the CSB’s relationship with our language, culture, and people. Although much progress has been made in areas such as student engagement, ᐄᔨᔨᐤ-centric programming, and teacher training, we know there is more work to be done. This Strategic Action Plan (SAP) illustrates that the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ is growing in a way that honours the promise of the JBNQA, and that it is committed to remaining accountable and responsive to our people.
This SAP is encouraging for several reasons. First, I appreciate the collaborative, consultative approach that the Office of the Director General employed in creating it. In developing this plan, many voices were considered and heard, and it was built on a strong foundation of engagement and teamwork.
Additionally, I am pleased to see our Strategic Themes with clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This provides community members with a strong idea of what they can expect from the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ and gives the Council of Commissioners an understanding of how we can support the positive growth of the organization. Having clear benchmarks is critical to ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ governance and will keep us all accountable as we move forward in service of our communities and Nation.
Finally, it is wonderful to see how focused this SAP is on promoting ᐄᔨᔨᐤ customs, practices, and a worldview at the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ. To fulfill the promise of the JBNQA, our cultural identity must be at the centre of everything we do as a school board. It is very meaningful to all Commissioners to see ᐄᔨᔨᐅᐃᔨᐦᑎᐧᐃᓐ culture play such a strong role in this plan. I am very keen to witness how the projects under the ᐄᔨᔨᐅᐃᔨᐦᑎᐧᐃᓐ Theme will progress over the coming years. I know the Council of Commissioners is deeply encouraged by this direction.
In presenting the Cree School Board 2021- 2026 Strategic Action Plan to the communities, the ᐄᔨᔨᐅᐃᔨᐦᑎᐧᐃᓐ is sharing its priorities and commitment to grow in significant ways. We look forward to providing the governance and support needed to move this important plan forward in service of our students, our communities, and the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐃᔨᑎᔅᑳᓈᓱᐧᐃᓐ as a whole.
The ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ has a unique and important mission: To provide for life-long learning while instilling the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒌᐦᑳᔮᐱᒧᐧᐋᐧᐃᓐ in partnership with our communities to allow each student to attain the qualifications and competencies to become a successful contributor to the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐃᔨᑎᔅᑳᓈᓱᐧᐃᓐ and society at large.
To fulfill our mission, I believe that we must work together, deepen our connection to our ᐄᔨᔨᐅᔨᒧᐧᐃᓐ and ᐃᔨᐦᑎᐧᐃᓐ, and passionately pursue student success. The ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ ᐋ ᐐᐱᔨᐦᑖᑭᓂᐎᒡ ᑖᓐ ᒑᐦ ᐄᔑ ᐋᐱᑎᔒᔥᑎᑭᓂᐧᐃᒡ Cree School Board 2021-2026 Strategic Action Plan (SAP) is a true reflection of how we can achieve this. Built with teamwork, iiyiyiu cultural values, and student-centred thinking, I am honoured to present it to you. We, at the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ, are all proud of the way we built this plan and are excited by the priorities we will be focusing on moving forward. you. We, at the CSB, are all proud of the way we built this plan and are excited by the priorities we will be focusing on moving forward.
This SAP was developed through an inclusive, consultative process involved ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ employees from all corners of our organization, as well as education partners and stakeholders in the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᐃᔨᑎᔅᑳᓈᓱᐧᐃᓐ. Most important to us, we conducted student surveys focused on the development of the SAP and reviewed various recent student survey results and engagement sessions. Together, we reflected on the last five years, looked toward to our future, and what matters most for our students and our organization in today’s world.
Three strategic themes emerged: (1) ᐄᔨᔨᐅᐃᔨᐦᑎᐧᐃᓐ, (2) Student Experience, and (3) Educational Success. These themes are listed separately; however, they are deeply interconnected. We know that our students thrive when they feel secure in their identity and connected to their language, culture, and land. By investing in a more culturally relevant education system, we can improve the student experience and motivate educational success. These themes, and their surrounding projects, will allow us to serve our students in a way that meets their unique needs and prepares them to contribute to our communities and society at large. As you read through this SAP, I hope you are inspired by our direction, and can clearly see your role in achieving our goals as an organization.
Overall, this SAP reflects our shared ideas, values, and hopes for the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ. It is a testament to what we can achieve through teamwork, a student- centred approach, and above all, a strong commitment to who we are as ᐄᔨᔨᐅᒡ.
I would like to thank everyone who participated in our consultations. I hope you are able to see your contribution to the SAP, and that you are as excited as I am about how we are moving forward together. I also extend my gratitude and deep respect to former Director General, Abraham Jolly, and to all those who created the Cree School Board 2016-2021 Strategic Action Plan. It laid an important foundation and introduced key focus areas we proudly carried over to this new plan. Finally, my sincere thanks to the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ Council of Commissioners* for their support; I look forward to reporting to Council as we implement the SAP in continuing to pursue our ultimate goal of Student Success!
Development Process
The Strategic Action Plan was developed using a classic planning model:
- Determining the starting position;
- Establishing the strategy (key objectives and initiatives)
- Building a detailed plan and tactics.
We used the analogy of preparing for a traditional hunt:
- Assessing the current environment and surroundings (ie. wind, temperature, etc.);
- Strategizing where you want to go on the trap line;
- Coming up with the plan for the hunt.
The Plan
In addition to developing the actual 2021-2026 Strategic Action Plan, the senior management team seized this unique opportunity to impact the organization with three objectives.
To build an effective plan that would set the course for who the ᐄᔨᔨᐤ ᒋᔅᑯᑎᒫᒑᐧᐃᓐ wants to be as an organization, focusing on impact not just activities;
To build organizational capacity and professional development around strategic planning, project planning and using data effectively;
To build internal and external engagement by adopting an organization-wide, consultative approach with employees, communities and other key stakeholders.
The SAP is built around three priority areas to achieve our ultimate goal of student success. Each area is expressed as a theme, with a title, explanation, and definition of success. With this clear vision of the future, our attention turned to establishing the key initiatives necessary to achieve it.
