Reflections on John Percevault's Presentation - July 9, 2009

Continuity – Because both individuals are associated with Lethbridge Public SD #51, there is a lot of continuity with what they were both saying. The fact that they were able to share the vision and work together was a key element in the success that has been achieved.

Salience – Historically, John has been recognized throughout the province as an expert in his field. His beginnings were similar to mine, as I was also a Business Education major in the mid 80’s. Often we were the ones who were the “computer” teachers, and we grew to be the go-to people on our staffs. Because we were the most familiar with technology, we were the people who used it the most. We understood it and saw the value of its use in all of our classes – Bus. Ed. or otherwise. As the IT director for Lethbridge 51, John has a key role in guiding the evolution of the vision. The fundamental purpose of a school system is the education of the students, and his experience in the realms of both technology and the classroom make him a natural choice to fill that position.

Outcomes – Barry and John share a vision and their outcomes are the same. They want equitable access, sustainability, support for staff members, and a better education for their students, not necessarily in that order.

Processes - John began by determining what existed, then worked to show the stakeholders what was possible. He was able to identify the weaknesses in the status quo and provide a plan to ameliorate the situation. He was innovative in his approach to funding the necessary improvements, and was able to persuade (with a lot of work, I imagine) the individual schools to give up some of their autonomy for the betterment of everyone.

Characteristics – John personifies some very important characteristics. He is experienced both in IT and teaching, he is personable, he is knowledgeable, and he is able to work collaboratively. He was able to come into a new division and realize that he would have to earn the respect of his colleagues. He did this by listening to their opinions and providing reasons for the actions that he wished to implement. His people skills enabled him to bring a disparate group of people together to work toward a common purpose.