Seine River School Division brought about 32 principals, vice principals and senior administrators to Pinewood Lodge for a multi-day leadership event focused on stronger working relationships and collaboration. Superintendent Colin Campbell said the gathering gave school leaders time to step away from daily operations and share challenges with colleagues.
The group included Campbell, who is relatively new to the division, and principals and vice principals who are also in their first few years in their roles. He said colleagues need to rely on one another for advice, input and collaboration. The Seine River school leadership event centered on creating room for those connections.
Seine River school plans guided the discussions
One part of the event connected leadership conversations to work already underway in individual schools. The division recently created a school planning portal, which principals and vice principals used during the sessions to review their school plans and identify a leadership challenge or problem of practice.
Participants then had time to work through those challenges with colleagues. Campbell said the discussions showed that many school leaders were dealing with similar issues. That overlap gave them a chance to exchange ideas and connect with people who could offer advice or support as they continued working on their respective plans.
The gathering’s emphasis on shared practice has parallels with other leadership efforts. Grit Daily has reported on leadership appointments at Radian Group, school leadership recommendations in Muscogee County and Central High School’s student leadership program. Those articles cover different organizations and settings; the Seine River account focuses on school administrators learning from peers as they address their own plans.
Personal connection was part of the work
Campbell said the event also helped participants get to know one another beyond their regular monthly meetings. He asked several attendees to reflect afterward and described their responses as heartfelt and authentic. They valued the chance to gather outside the usual meetings and hear colleagues share personal journeys and how they became leaders.
Campbell said he also shared more about himself, including his roles as a father, husband and person, rather than speaking only as superintendent. He called the experience powerful and said he believed the sessions helped the group feel more connected and understand one another better.
The event therefore combined practical discussion with personal exchange. School leaders examined challenges tied to their schools, heard that peers faced similar problems and had opportunities to offer one another input. Campbell said the relationships formed during the sessions would matter as participants continued their work on school plans.
Division will consider what comes next
The division plans to discuss the event at an upcoming debrief during its monthly principals’ meeting. Campbell said Seine River will consider which format would be most useful moving forward. He sees value in bringing school leaders together but said a large gathering may not be needed every year.
A smaller event could take place next year, Campbell suggested. The division’s next step is to review the experience with principals and decide what approach best supports the leadership team and reflects what participants found valuable. That discussion will determine how the Seine River school leadership sessions continue, if they continue in a similar form.
