Educator Amanda Olson has worked to improve the mental health of staff and students by building relationships with businesses and contributing to a new provincial education plan — and is now receiving praise for those efforts.
Olson, the superintendent of learning for Prairie South School Division, was highlighted for her work during the Nov. 7 board meeting.
Education director Ryan Boughen began by thanking the division’s team of superintendents for creating a school and division improvement accountability report and presenting it to trustees. He also commended them for their work with principals since the report was a good demonstration of focused learning that occurs in schools.
“This is the heart of our work. This is how we bring (learning) alive in our school division,” he said.
Boughen then singled out Olson and said she has been “absolutely instrumental” in creating a relationship with River Street Promotions (RSP), a company that has organized the Homestand concerts that raise money for youth-related mental health initiatives in southern Saskatchewan.
“I was quite blown away … when they presented us (Prairie South and Holy Trinity) with a cheque for $130,000,” said Boughen. “They’re an amazing group of people doing really cool things for students that they don’t even really understand.”
The fact that RSP was created is a testament to Olson’s ability to work with them and have them engage in projects that support youths, he continued. Prairie South is fortunate that Olson can develop relationships since students and families benefit from those efforts.
The division’s budget is normally tight, so finding $130,000 to support “really neat things” for students is usually impossible, Boughen added. So, he was thrilled that Olson had secured a strong relationship on behalf of Prairie South with a community organization like RSP.
Trustee Robert Bachmann also commended Olson for her work addressing students’ mental health, saying he and another trustee attended an education sector meeting recently in Saskatoon that reviewed the new provincial education plan.
Of the plan’s four pillars — learning and assessment, aboriginal learning, mental health and well-being, and student transitions through school — Olson has been leading the development of the mental health and well-being category. She gave a presentation to the education groups about what that pillar contains.
“I know there’s lots of people who couldn’t be thanked, but to have one of our own superintendents leading that and doing a great job is great to see,” said Bachmann. “I know the plan is still in the beginning implementation stage, but (I) sure appreciate her work on behalf of the province towards this new education plan.”
The next Prairie South board meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 5.
In response to some providers blocking access to Canadian news on their platforms, our website, MooseJawToday.com will continue to be your source for hyper-local Moose Jaw news. Bookmark MooseJawToday.com and sign up for our free online newsletter to read the latest local developments.
