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JoAnna Roberto Named Grand Erie District School Board’s New Director of Education

Grand Erie’s Board of Trustees has selected the system’s new leader – a champion to build on the goal of Success for Every Student, and an advocate for students and staff. JoAnna Roberto begins her new role as Director of Education on August 1.

“JoAnna is a compassionate and collaborative leader who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with her,” said Board Chair Greg Anderson. “Her focus on building relationships with staff and students as a way to boost confidence and increase overall achievement and well-being aligns nicely with our Multi-Year Plan and its focus on Success for Every Student. JoAnna will be a great leader for Grand Erie as we work together to serve the needs of our students, our staff, and our school communities.”

Roberto moves to Grand Erie following eight years as a Superintendent of Education at the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN). As Superintendent of Curriculum and Student Achievement, she was responsible for the learning agenda and Information Technology in a district serving 36,000 students. She was also responsible for the math strategy, Indigenous Education, French Immersion, Early Years, International Education, and English as a Second Language.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to join Grand Erie, and to continue its valued tradition of focusing on well-being and Success for Every Student,” said Roberto, who was appointed Director at a Special Board Meeting last night. “I look forward to collaborating with Trustees and the Senior Administration Team, principals, vice-principals, teachers, support staff and families within all of our school communities. In particular, I look forward to reaching out and offering my friendship to Grand Erie’s First Nations community members – Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.”

Roberto’s portfolio at DSBN’s also featured the Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement, where she led the development and implementation of staff and student growth. She was part of the strategic planning team with Trustees, creating DSBN’s 2015-20 Renewed Strategic Plan.

“My goal is to inspire learning, innovation, equity and serve the community by modelling leadership with a sense of pride, compassion, hope and my own lived experiences. Student achievement will be at the core of everything we do, and the system grows when it is supportive of all educators and staff. Continuing a strong culture of learning with high expectations at all levels will ensure our decisions positively impact student improvement.”

Roberto began her career in education in 1997 as an elementary teacher with the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board. She then returned to her hometown of Niagara Falls where she worked in a number of roles for DSBN including teacher, vice-principal, principal, and superintendent of education.

Roberto, whose parents and grandparents emigrated from Italy, credits a lot of her success to her tight-knit family. She graduated from Niagara University with both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education Degree in 1997, before earning her Master of Educational Administration and Supervision – also from Niagara – in 2001. Roberto is currently completing her Ph.D. in Niagara University’s Leadership and Policy program.

Roberto succeeds Brenda Blancher, who has served as Grand Erie’s Director of Education since 2015. Blancher announced her retirement in January and leaves the Board after nearly 35 years in education. Blancher was celebrated by Trustees on Monday night as she made her final Regular Board Meeting appearance.

Grand Erie District School Board represents more than 18,000 students in 58 elementary schools and 7,700 students in 14 secondary schools within the City of Brantford and the Counties of Brant, Haldimand, and Norfolk as well as secondary students from Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

Photos by Grand Erie Communications

Good Food Adds Up to Good Learning at Courtland Pubic School

Evidence suggests that breakfast and snack programs in schools:

  • Improves children’s school performance, memory and test grades
  • Enhances students’ physical, emotional, social and intellectual development
  • Increases attendance rates, particularly for nutritionally at risk children
  • Provides additional time for children to eat and drink nutritious breakfasts and snacks
  • Provides energy for students to be more physically
  • Enhances nutritional status of students by replacing the consumption of foods with low nutritional value with more nutritious choices, such as more vegetables and fruit
  • Promotes a sense of community by bringing people together to ensure all children are well-nourished
  • Leads to better dietary habits by increasing the frequency of eating breakfast
  • Reduces the prevalence of vitamin and mineral deficiencies

With the generous support of the Child Nutrition Network and the Grand Erie District School Board, the school was able to renovate a room in the school into a nutrition program kitchen. Funds provided by the Child Nutrition Network and school fundraising monies purchase the good food and materials needed to run the program.

Every morning at 8 a.m., parent volunteers and their children arrive to prepare and distribute the food for the day. This program would not happen without their enthusiastic support.

Each serving of food includes a dairy product (i.e. yogurt, cheese string), a grain product (i.e. crackers, mixed cereal, muffin, whole wheat bun) and a fruit product (i.e. apple, banana, clementine orange, grapes, juice) or a vegetable product (i.e. cucumber slices, raw carrots). A container filled with food is delivered to each classroom and as children get settled for a day of learning, staff and students are encouraged to help themselves to a delicious and nutritious start to the day.

“Nutrition programs, such as the one at Courtland Public School, are happening in many schools within the Grand Erie District School Board. It’s a huge effort supported by the Board, volunteers and community agencies. Working together, it’s amazing what can be done. We feel most grateful to have this opportunity for our Courtland school community”, says principal Deb Opersko.

Roots of Empathy

Courtland Public School offers the Roots of Empathy program in our Kindergarten A classroom. Our Early Childhood Educator, Mrs. L. Wildman is a trained Roots of Empathy instructor. Our Roots of Empathy baby and her mom are welcome visitors to the classroom.

An explanation of program, from the Roots of Empathy website is included below:

Roots of Empathy is an evidence-based classroom program that has shown significant effect in reducing levels of aggression among schoolchildren by raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. The program reaches elementary schoolchildren from Kindergarten to Grade 8. In Canada, the program is delivered in English and French and reaches rural, urban, and remote communities including Aboriginal communities. Roots of Empathy is also delivered in New Zealand, the United States, Isle of Man, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Emotional Literacy

At the heart of the program are a neighbourhood infant and parent who visit the classroom every three weeks over the school year. A trained Roots of Empathy Instructor coaches students to observe the baby's development and to label the baby's feelings. In this experiential learning, the baby is the "Teacher" and a lever, which the instructor uses to help children identify and reflect on their own feelings and the feelings of others. This "emotional literacy" taught in the program lays the foundation for more safe and caring classrooms, where children are the "Changers". They are more competent in understanding their own feelings and the feelings of others (empathy) and are therefore less likely to physically, psychologically and emotionally hurt each other through bullying and other cruelties. In the

Roots of Empathy program children learn how to challenge cruelty and injustice. Messages of social inclusion and activities that are consensus building contribute to a culture of caring that changes the tone of the classroom. The Instructor also visits before and after each family visit to prepare and reinforce teachings using a specialized lesson plan for each visit. Research results from national and international evaluations of Roots of Empathy indicate significant reductions in aggression and increases in pro-social behaviour.

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