"Principal Perspectives"

"School Leader Interview"

Oct 2011

New Information Pamphlet for school leaders. NBACL and CACL are pleased to make available a new information document on providing leadership for inclusive schools. Check it out...

Jan 2011

Saskatchewan Principal Ron Leidl - Inclusion Matters! Reg Leidl is principal of the P. J. Gillen School in the town of Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. It is a small elementary school in a farming and potash mining community in the south-east of the province. Inclusion in small, rural schools is a pattern we can find throughout Canada. It makes sense and it works. Perhaps the sense of community makes a difference. Reg has been a teacher for nearly 30 years and has been a school leader for 18 years. He has degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and Minot State University in North Dakota.


Click Here - to read the interview.

Feb 2010
Short Bio of Elaine Lochhead:
• In the Seine River School Division: Principal of Ste. Anne Collegiate for past 9 years Resource teacher 13 years at both elementary and high school levels Classroom teacher for 5 years
• Member of Manitoba Council for Exceptional Children, Manitoba Association of Resource Teachers
• Presenter at local, provincial and international levels
• Top two priorities in education – inclusion and literacy
• Married, three children, two grandchildren



Click Here - to read the interview.

Sept 2009 - John Clendenning - Educator for three decades in schools in what is now School District 14. John has been a teacher, vice‐principal, and principal of several schools. He recently led the merger of two schools into one – Hartland Community School in his hometown – famous as the home of the “Longest Covered Bridge in the World”. Currently he is principal of Hartland Community School, a K‐12 school with approximately 700 students.



Click Here - to read the interview.

May 2009 - Tanya Whitney- Educator for 19 years within the public and First Nations School system in New Brunswick. Currently a principal of a large K-8 school in Saint John’s east side (800 students). Resides in Woodman’s Point along the Saint John River with her husband and three children.



Click Here - to read the interview.

February 2009 - Pamela Ball - Presently I am the principal of an elementary school in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I have been in the education field for the past 28 years having taken some time off to raise my 2 children. My children are grown now and I am a grandmother of 2 beautiful little boys. I began my teaching career teaching in a grade 2 classroom, returned to University to get my Fine Arts degree and when I went back into the classroom, it was to teach Art and English to junior high and high school students. Going into Administration was a goal of mine and when my first appointment was a return to the elementary children, I was very excited. I thoroughly love my job and each day is busy and full of new learning experiences. What a joy to walk the halls each day and see smiling faces and know that I can play an important role in how they interact with others and the world around them.

Click Here - to read the interview.

January 2009 - "Kókay Lányi Marietta is Principal of Gyermekek Háza - in Budapest, Hungary. This interview and the photos are based on a visit there in November 2008. It was a great school. It was an inclusive school. We are excited to share this example of leadership and excellence with you as we start a new year - 2009. Thanks to Marietta, her colleagues and the children at the school for their fine example of inclusion in action."

Click Here - to read the interview.

September 2008 -George Aiken is an experienced principal from Prince Edward Island. His school is the Kensington Intermediate Senior High in Kensington PEI. George has some sound ideas on what makes a school a good school and what a principal needs to do to make it inclusive.
Check out his replies to our questions.(PDF)

May 2008 -Chris Treadwell is an experienced principal who has worked at several schools in New Brunswick. He served as a secondary school principal on Grand Manan Island, located in the Bay of Fundy; he was principal of Hartland High School, home of the world’s longest covered bridge; he also served as principal of Keswick Valley Memorial School, a K-8 school in Burtt’s Corner, NB, a rural community just north of Fredericton. Most recently he has been principal of the Park Street Elementary School in Fredericton. This is an urban school in NB’s capitol city. Chris is viewed as a highly effective school leader by his colleagues and by the parents of the schools he has worked in. He has been involved in inclusive education throughout his career as a school leader. Chris has a positive and can-do attitude when it comes to inclusion. Check out our Q&A with him. Click Here to read the interview(PDF)

March 2008 -John Isbister is a principal in a community school in rural Manitoba. He believes in including children with all needs in regular classrooms. He is modest about what he and his teachers do day-to-day to make inclusion a reality. Read his comments on what it takes to make it work. Click Here to read the interview(PDF)

February 2008 - Iris Trask is a secondary school principal at Golden Secondary School, Rocky Mountain School District #6, Golden, B.C. Iris began teaching in 1984, and has worked at both elementary and secondary levels as a teacher and administrator. She strongly believes that inclusive education positively affects all students and helps to create a more tolerant and accepting community of learners. Click Here to read the interview(PDF)

January 2008 - Tammy Dunbar, Principal of the Southern Carleton Elementary School, District 14, Woodstock, NB. Tammy has been a teacher, a method and resource teacher, a district consultant and a school principal. She has a solid set of experiences and has done an exceptional job of making inclusive education work in all her roles. Click Here to read what she has to say(PDF)