It was 3 years ago that Sackville residents concerned about the condition of schools in our Town met to discuss what the future of education could look like. Realizing that it was important to be proactive in the face of inevitable change--there was talk about combining Marshview students into TRHS, since it was clear that the Marshview building was well past its prime--Sackville Schools 2020 was born out of the recognition that community must be involved in decisions related to local education. The 2020 part of the name was chosen because it was hoped that by 2020, students in Sackville would be benefiting from the efforts of the group, which intended to advocate for new school infrastructure and a community integrated vision of education. As the future generation of decision makers and leaders, it's what the children of Sackville deserve.
Fast forward to today. A lot has happened over the last 3 years. Sackville Schools 2020 has formed connections and partnerships with advocates, educators and politicians across the province, and across Canada. There has been international attention for our community integrated education vision. It aligns with what is being done elsewhere to enhance and modernize schools and the teaching the occurs within.
Among the supporters of the Sackville Schools 2020 effort is Ted Dintersmith. Those of you who attended the Most Likely to Succeed film screening in March 2017 will remember that Mr. Dintersmith is the producer of the film, which talks about re-imagining schooling, and he is a major change agent helping propel education reform to meet the needs of current students. He recently wrote an inspiring book entitled What School Could Be, that empowers teachers to make learning engaging and joy-filled.
We are fortunate to have an ally in Mr. Dintersmith. In fact, he has recently sent a video to encourage the work being done by Sackville Schools 2020. One can argue that there is nothing as important as preparing our children for the future, and his message is certainly worth hearing:
