September 1, 2018
Lisa Reinhardt, Manager
Corporate Secretariat and Trustee Services
Dear Lisa,
The Board ofTrustees and the Senior Team have worked collaboratively with our community torenew our Strategic Plan. As a leadership team, we have aligned the Director’sAnnual Plan and Board Improvement Plan to meet the priorities and goalsoutlined by trustees. Additionally, we have successfully put into routinepractice the Minister’s Directions. In short, our leadership team is poised toalign our efforts and work, to collaborate with precision and diligence toensure positive outcomes are met for students, families and staff.
As the Managerof Corporate Secretariat and Trustee Services, you support trustees to enacttheir governance and oversight roles as outlined in the Education Act. Youoversee the Board’s Corporate Secretariat as designate for the secretary of theBoard, who is responsible for oversight of the Board’s official meeting recordsand all other responsibilities as outlined in the Education Act. Further, youprovide trustee training and enable decision making to flow through the variouscommittee structures.
To enhance ouralignment of purpose, I am asking that you work on the following specificpriorities during the 2018-2019 school year that complement your role asManager of Corporate Secretariat and Trustee Services.
- Lead thecreation of a department plan that is aligned to the Director’s Annual Plan andinclude all elements of a logic model inclusive of data and evidence.
- Lead thedevelopment of a trustee orientation series and ongoing professionaldevelopment for the new Board of Trustees. This should include equity training,human rights training, budget process, good governance, school site tours andan orientation to places of worship throughout York Region. You will need towork with trustees to assess learning needs and collaborate with variousmembers of the senior team including, but not limited to, the Human RightsCommissioner, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications and Senior Manager,Legal, Legislative and Administrative Services.
- Develop andimplement professional learning for senior team related to the roles andresponsibilities of trustees.
- Develop andimplement a communication guide for trustees and senior staff that includessample scenarios. The guide should cite the Education Actand the Good Governance Guide. It should be designed to supporttrustees to uphold their governance role with confidence and clarity.
- Develop adepartment graphic organizer that includes titles, roles and responsibilitiesto provide clarity of decision making within Corporate Secretariat and TrusteeServices.
- Collaboratewith the Associate Directors in the development of the Community BoardInteraction Management Tool (RESOLVE) to ensure alignment to the SupportingCommunity Concerns policy and procedure.
- Develop a planfor reviewing Board Governance and decision making structures. The plan shouldinclude soliciting trustee and staff input and guidance related to how best tosolicit strengths and needs of our current methods to share information withtrustees and support effective decision making.
- Collaboratewith the Senior Manager, Corporate Communications and Chief Financial Officerto develop a Trustee Portal that enables them to access electronic current andhistoric agendas and minutes.
- Collaboratewith the Chief Financial Officer to provide trustees with technology thatenables them to fulfill their role.
- Embed evidencegathering and monitoring in all elements of your practice.
I ask you toconsider the above priorities and develop an implementation plan that includestimelines, outcomes and performance indicators. In our meetings, I will askthat you provide updates to progress as appropriate.
Thank you foryour leadership Lisa and I look forward to working alongside you in the2018-2019 academic school year.
Sincerely,
Louise Sirisko
Director of Education
York Region District School Board