Erin Public School principal Peter LeBlanc has been named one of Canada’s Outstanding Principals, becoming the first from the Upper Grand District School Board to ever claim the honour.
On Jan. 27 LeBlanc was announced as one of Canada’s 40 outstanding principals for 2015, the 11th year of the program.
“I was thrilled,” LeBlanc said. “Thrilled because it’s nice to be recognized and you figure that you’re doing a good job but it’s nice to have the support of your community and your students and your staff.”
The award is presented annually by The Learning Partnership, a national charitable organization, to “shine a light on the importance of good leadership in our public education system,” said Akela Peoples, president and CEO of The Learning Partnership.
“We want to celebrate and acknowledge those that are what we deem outstanding, going above and beyond in their role in creating dynamic and safe learning environments for young people in our schools across the country.”
LeBlanc was nominated by an Erin Public School teacher in the fall and learned the was receiving the award just before it was announced publicly.
“[The nominator] is someone that works with Peter every day, that reports to him, that gets to experience his leadership on a daily basis,” Peoples said. “I think that’s very positive and speaks volumes about him as a leader.”
She noted it was LeBlanc’s forward thinking ideas that caught the committee’s attention and helped secure him a place in the prestigious group of educators.
“He’s really trying to be innovative in preparing his students for future success,” Peoples said.
“He has a tremendous passion for growing global citizenship skills, which is very important these days. We live in a global environment.”
Erin Public School is renown as a very technologically-savvy environment, with about 230 different pieces of technology in the school and only about 350 students.
LeBlanc said he and the staff encourage students to use the technology available for learning. Because it’s changing all of the time, LeBlanc said it’s crucial that students know how to use technology to facilitate learning.
“It’s not so much the knowledge as it is the ability to use tech in a way that’s kind of integrated into learning,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re not kind of saying ‘let’s all get the latest and greatest’ but ‘let’s be open to using technology for learning.’”
Some of the technology comes from funds gathered through reducing the amount of photocopying since 2012, the year LeBlanc became principal at Erin Public School.
“We’ve actually reduced our copying costs by half and what I had said was … on a dollar-for-dollar basis you can reduce your photocopying costs and we’ll supplement that with technology and that way we can get students to collaborate online, for example, without ever having to print,” he explained.
LeBlanc added it’s not uncommon for two students in two different classrooms to be working on one project through an online cloud service.
However, it’s relationships that are really important to him.
“As much as we’re in the learning business, I think we’re in the relationship business,” he said.
“I think it’s important for [students] to see me around the building everyday, to be comfortable to come and talk to me if they have concerns or questions.
“I think if a child isn’t feeling comfortable in the environment then the learning is not happening.”
LeBlanc said one of the most rewarding parts about being a principal is supporting his students. One way he does that is through reading time. He explained that sometimes students who need to practice reading will come into his office, choose one of the books sitting on his window sill and read to him.
“I coach the hockey team for the school as well, along with some of our staff,” he said. “So just different ways to support kids and to kind of watch them increase their connection to the building, to see that little light go on whether it’s in language or in math or something else, that’s pretty rewarding.”
LeBlanc, along with the 39 other outstanding principals chosen across Canada this year, will receive his award at the Canada’s Outstanding Principals Gala on Feb. 24 in Toronto. He will also participate in a five-day training program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
In future years he will be a part of the National Academy of Canada’s Outstanding Principals, joining other Wellington County winners Ted Laxton (2009) and Stephen Redmond (2006). This gives him the opportunity to join in the gala each year and attend a three-day alumni workshop.
LeBlanc has been teaching since 1993. He became a vice principal in 2004 and a principal in 2007.
