Leadership Development


Leadership Development

Principal Congress

Background

The Principal Congress is a unique, tri-level forum for Ontario's principals, supervisory officers, directors of education, education partners (including representatives from all Ontario leadership associations) and ministry staff. The first Principal Congress was held on February 10, 2009.

The Congress serves as a "think tank" to generate and exchange innovative ideas to improve schools and enhance student learning. The goal of the Congress is also to strengthen the ministry's relationship with school and system leaders and include their voice in ministry initiatives. The Congress builds on a professional learning network through dialogue that invites open exchange and solicits input on policy directions that impact schools and students.

2011 Principal Congress

The theme of the February 2011 Congress was “Fostering Student Engagement: Mobilizing Leaders' Knowledge to Close Achievement Gaps in Ontario Schools”. Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Education, welcomed participants and opened the Congress.

Marg Connor, Director, Leadership Development Branch, shared the responses gathered from congress participants who were asked what instructional activities they use to foster student engagement in learning.

Keynote speaker Dr. J. Douglas Willms, Director, Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy at the University of New Brunswick, presented his research findings on student engagement. Dr. Willms is co-author of What Did You Do in School Today?: Transforming Classrooms through Social, Academic and Intellectual Engagement.

Participants included principals from Ontario's 72 district school boards and four school authorities, as well as selected directors of education and supervisory officers.

Principal Congress 2011 Highlights – Video Clips

2010 Principal Congress

The theme of the February 2010 Congress was “Mobilizing Leaders' Knowledge to Close Achievement Gaps in Ontario Schools”. The Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Education, welcomed participants and opened the Congress.

Dr. Ken Leithwood, Leadership Development Branch Special Advisor, reported on “What Successful Principals Know and Do about Closing the Achievement Gap” as suggested by the evidence provided in participants' responses to the advance question from the 2009 Principal Congress.

Marg Connor, Director of the Leadership Development Branch, shared the trends about theories of action for changing instructional practice which were provided in advance by 2010 Congress participants.

Keynote speaker Dr. Richard Elmore, Gregory R. Anrig Professor of Education Leadership at Harvard University gave a thought-provoking presentation on theories of action as a pathway to instructional improvement. His presentation included key messages from the book Instructional Rounds in Education: A Network Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning,” by City, Elmore, Fiarman, and Teitel, (2009).

Congress participants were, for the most part, practicing principals representing Ontario's 72 district school boards and four school authorities. They were identified by their directors of education as principals who are regarded as system thinkers.

Recognizing the critical role that district leaders play in creating the conditions of success for principals, participants also included directors of education and supervisory officers representing the six regions in the province.

Principal Congress 2010 Highlights – Video Clips

2009 Principal Congress

The theme of the February 2009 Congress was "Sustaining the Momentum: Closing the Achievement Gap". Deputy Minister Ben Levin and former CEO of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat Avis Glaze were key presenters, reporting back on input provided by Congress participants on closing student achievement gaps.

The keynote speaker was Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He gave a relevant and thought provoking presentation on the thinking patterns of successful leaders and their creative solutions to apparently unpleasant tradeoffs. His presentation was based on his book, The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking.

Congress participants were, for the most part, practicing principals representing the 72 school boards and four school authorities. They were identified either by their directors of education or their provincial principal association as principals who are regarded as "system leaders". Recognizing the critical role that system leaders play in creating the conditions of success for principals, participants also included directors of education and supervisory officers representing the six regions in the province.

Principal Congress 2009 Highlights – Video Clips