Wednesday May 22, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated 10:10 am]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Long-time education administrator Paul Block became Superintendent of the Sooke School District 62 (SD62) back on new year’s day 2024.
Now just after Victoria Day weekend, he sees evident progress of the collaborative approach taken by SD62 leadership over the past several years.
Block attended the provincial announcement by two MLAs yesterday to announce the business plan phase for a third high school in the west shore area (the fourth for SD62 overall).
Held on a school construction site in the rain of a cool spring rain, the announcement by MLA Ravi Parmar and MLA Mitzi Dean also included SD62 Board Chair Amanda Dowhy, but did not bring Block to the podium.
That format without Block at the podium was a statement of who is in charge and where the money will be expected to come from, but also Block’s confidence in how the limelight works. The approach is that Parmar is the SD62 key into the lockset of the education ministry budget for constant attention to the needs of SD62 in the fast-growing west shore region of Greater Victoria.
Moving forward in 2024:
“The biggest success is that the school district hasn’t missed a beat since Scott Stinson retired,” Paul Block told Island Social Trends yesterday without missing a beat in emphasizing the team approach of SD62 administration.
Stinson was the former superintendent, retiring in December 2023 after five years with Block as Associate Superintendent and then Deputy Superintendent.
In these first few months as superintendent Block says “we’ve had challenges or opportunities … on the capital side of things but also in terms of meeting our community’s needs and their wants”.
He mentioned having to deal with “student walkouts and protests coming forward” in his first few months on the job. But then turned his commentary to the work ahead.
Block said yesterday that the high school business plan announcement is evidence of “the board and the senior executive team working very well together to advocate for the Ministry to meet those needs on the capital side”.
“On the other side we work very hard with our parents to build confidence around the work that we’re doing to support students in our schools and make sure everyone’s safe,” said Block.
“That along with making all of our partnerships staying tight and strong and productive is probably the best part” of the first phase of his work as superintendent, Block told Island Social Trends yesterday.
No doubt the many facets of dealing with continued robust population growth is integral to all of Block’s decision-making in guiding the executive and the board. As the targeted housing growth area (as part of the Capital Regional District’s regional growth strategy), the west shore and Sooke have seen continued new housing since about 2010.
Building more partnerships:
Block said his biggest surprise in these first few months as Superintendent is “the volume of people that want in partnership with the school district and move in a positive direction”.
“So we’re just trying to balance all of that with the workload of the daily operations of the school district as well,” said Block.
===== RELATED:
- Business plan underway for third SD62 west shore high school (May 21, 2024)
- SD62 says south Langford elementary school construction on track (May 14, 2024)
- Langford & SD62 collaborate with MOTI & ICBC on active transportation (April 16, 2024)
- SD62 Superintendent Paul Block pleased with provincial support (March 14, 2024)
- SD62 internal refresh for 2024 (December 30, 2023)
- SD62 and City of Langford launch North Langford all-weather field (July 6, 2023)
- SD62 ushering in Paul Block as their next superintendent starting 2024 (July 3, 2023)
- NEWS SECTIONS: EDUCATION | SD62 | BC ELECTION 2024
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Island Social Trends Editor Mary P Brooke attended nearly every Sooke School District (SD62) board and committee meeting from 2014 to 2022 for an in-depth understanding of the workings of public education in the west shore.
Mary Brooke has four grown children who attended schools in SD61 and SD62. She ran for SD62 school trustee in 2022 to highlight the public education concerns of parents and families.
Previous to launching Island Social Trends online at IslandSocialTrends.ca in 2020 Ms Brooke published MapleLine Magazine (quarterly 2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (weekly 2011-2013) and West Shore Voice News (weekly 2014-2020). Those print publications are permanently archived at the Sooke Region Museum.
Since covering COVID daily in 2020-2022 Ms Brooke has reported alongside the BC Legislative Press Gallery.
In 2023 Mary P Brooke was nominated for a Jack Webster Foundation award recognizing her contribution to community through professional journalism.
In 2024, Ms Brooke has launched Urban Food Resilience Initiatives Society which provides advocacy to municipalities for food-growing in urban communities.