Leadership Talks

As the school leaders of Peel Elementary Virtual School, Raquel Cariati-Cardoso and Sumeeta Merwar, have comprehensive understanding of virtual learning's role in the educational landscape . Their insights are backed by practical experience that focus on ensuring that students' diverse needs are met effectively in an innovative virtual space. Having been at the forefront of implementing virtual le...

For this episode of Leadership Talks, we welcome Anjali Bajaj, a secondary vice-principal with the Toronto District School Board. Anjali shares how leading for equity impacts the mental health of school administrators , a topic which she presented in the spring of 2023 OPC Vice-principal Symposium. While acknowledging post-pandemic realities, there is a greater need to support student & staff...

In this episode, Lisa Cole shares how inclusive design approaches may provide an opportunity to co-design and co-implement programs that make system impact in STEM education . She plays a pivotal role at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, which launched k2i (kindergarten to industry) academy in June 2020 with a mission to create an ecosystem of diverse partners, committed to dismant...

School leaders are tasked with ensuring the health and safety of the students and staff in school buildings. Many would wonder how to manage when a challenging situation elevates to a level that is out-of-the ordinary. Steve Oliver joins the Leadership Talks team for a conversation to share his journey and what he learned from handling a high profile situation so that colleagues can recognize the...

Diane Merhi's story is a testament to the fact that there is no one set pathway to leadership. In this Leadership Talks, Diane shares her personal journey, beginning as an office administrator, transitioning to educational assistant, and eventually taking on teaching and leadership roles. Her lived experiences as a first-generation immigrant navigating the school system, combined with her experien...

Our conversation with Karen Timm spotlights her passion and expertise in neurodiversity. Neuroaffirmative practice is an essential skill for school leaders , though many may not yet feel equipped to lead in this area. As the growing body of authentically informed research shows, embracing neurodifferences through human rights informed practice is not just beneficial for neurodivergent students and...

At Andrea Carnegie’s school, they work on leveraging student voices, especially the voices of Black, Indigenous and students who have been historically marginalized. This empowers students to have more ownership and agency over their learning. For this episode of Leadership Talks, Andrea shares with us the importance of grounding teaching and learning through a variety of pedagogical practices, su...

With the current demand for Technological Education for K – 12, Brent Coakwell joins us on Leadership Talks to share his passion for the trades. He’ll discuss how it’s possible to empower and enhance the experience for students, while supporting principals in an area many are looking to develop a deeper understanding. There are ways principals can help each other through the deep work needed to bu...

Update - Shortly after the release of this episode, we received feedback that the term “walks” is not inclusive as not all individuals walk. We should have included terminology that is universal and does not stem from ableism. We decided to keep this episode available as it does highlight ideas and strategies to support instructional leadership. As we re-evaluate resources, strategies, etc. to sup...

Gurmeet Gill, our guest in this episode of Leadership Talks, has been using school wide and community read alouds to bring the community together. The intentional selection of books support school success goals around equity, including celebrating Black Excellence, learning about Canadian history with the lens of Truth and Reconciliation, and celebrates our students and community. Gurmeet’s suppor...

Please note that this topic may be challenging for different reasons, and while it is not our intent to cause anxiety or stress to anyone participating or listening, we acknowledge that this may be the experience for some people. If needed, we encourage you to reach out for support to a trusted friend or colleague, another personal resource or your organization’s Employee Assistance Program. In th...

For this episode, we have Jennifer Shortreed joining us to share some of her experiences working on innovative structures that improve student outcomes over the years, most frequently in Design thinking, Student Success and Online Learning. As a System Principal with 15 years secondary administrative experience, she has activated staff on innovation in new modular credits in student success, innov...

Joining us in conversation is Kingsley Hurlington to discuss the question - Ever wonder why some youth are seemingly crushed by stress in their lives while others seem to thrive? Resilience is the capacity of individuals to navigate their way to well-being in the face of adversity. In an interactive workshop, we explore how the principles of resilience can be applied by teachers with individual st...

In an elementary school that is deemed "high need" within Ontario, the context of the learning is as important as what is being taught and by whom. In our conversation with Umar Qureshi, he discusses his research proposal compiling leadership competencies and standardized considerations to support school leaders. Could leadership considerations be added to the Ontario Leadership Framework (OLF) gi...

Welcome! Join our hosts Susie and Lawrence to hear more about what Leadership Talks is all about. We are looking forward to our conversations with leaders in education sharing their passions, areas of expertise and authentic stories about what drives their leadership journey. Please consider joining us as a guest to share your story. Leadership Talks Proposal Form INTRODUCING OUR HOSTS Lawrence De...