| 8:00 - 9:00 am (Mountain Time)Welcome and Keynote Address: Every Child Deserves a TeamSpeakers: Kurtis Hewson and Lorna Hewson Join Kurtis and Lorna Hewson as they kick off the 2026 Collaborative Response Virtual Summit with an energizing look at what it truly takes to support every student. In this opening session, Kurtis and Lorna unpack the four essential layers of collaboration every school needs, and why missing even one leaves educators isolated and students unsupported. We’ll then dive deep into the heart of Collaborative Response: the collaborative team meeting. Discover how this specific meeting structure uniquely balances the needs of both students and staff, and learn how all four collaborative layers interconnect to build a sustainable, responsive environment. Start your summit experience with clear insights, actionable strategies, and the collective purpose to ensure no student—or teacher—navigates learning alone. |
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9:15 - 10:15 am (Mountain Time)Breakout Session #1 | |
| A1: Ernest Manning High School - Our Collaborative Response Journey Ernest Manning staff will share their collective experiences implementing a cross-curricular Collaborative Response in a large high school setting. Central to this work is the power of cross-curricular teams, where educators bring diverse perspectives to better understand student needs, align instructional strategies, and remove barriers to learning. This interactive presentation will outline the school’s journey in building a sustainable, whole-school process that moves beyond silos and fosters shared ownership for student success. Participants will learn how purposeful collaboration, supported by data-informed dialogue, has strengthened Tier I and Tier II supports, increased student connection, and contributed to improved student outcomes. Presenters: Mike Wilson - Principal, Ernest Manning High School - Calgary Board of Education; Rob Champ - Learning Leader, Ernest Manning High School - Calgary Board of Education |
| A2: Collaboratively Responding to Instructional Leadership Discover how Grasslands Public Schools’ five year journey with Jigsaw Learning and a focus on Collaborative Response has led to an aligned and enhanced focus on instructional leadership. Scott and Nicole will provide participants with a step by step explanation of how Grasslands’ Administrator Collaborative Team Meetings (Admin CTMs) have become an integral structure and process to support leaders’ key issues, embed leadership collaboration, and build system capacity. Participants will leave the session with ideas and recommendations for how their school division can incorporate Administrator CTMs as a foundation to their instructional leadership and a process that supports leaders in the complex and demanding world of educational leadership. Presenters: Scott Brandt - Superintendent, Grasslands Public Schools; Nicole Short, Assistant Superintendent, Grasslands Public Schools |
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10:30 - 11:30 am (Mountain Time)Breakout Session #2 | |
| B1: Pie in the Face: The Journey and Collaboration of Two Schools This session will share how Evergreen Elementary and Aurora Elementary leveraged student transition data to inform strategic planning; scheduled dedicated collaborative time, and are developing tiered support systems across social-emotional, literacy, and numeracy domains, while using specific grade team inquiries. Presenters: Andrea Hodges-Payne - Principal, Aurora Elementary School - Wild Rose School Division; Judy Baraniuk - Principal, Evergreen Elementary School - Wild Rose School Division |
| B2: Mayhem to Momentum: Building Collaborative Culture in a Brand-New Middle School Team When a school year begins with 14 of 18 teachers new to the building, most support staff with eighteen months or less experience in the school, two assistant principals only one year in, a newly hired secretary and a brand-new principal at the helm, “mayhem” becomes more than a metaphor—it becomes the daily lived experience. Yet within that whirlwind lies an incredible opportunity: the chance to intentionally build a collaborative culture from the ground up. In this session, we share the story of how Percy Baxter Middle School embraced the turbulence of a fresh-start year to establish clarity, consistency, and collective efficacy through Collaborative Response. Participants will explore how we moved from disconnected individuals to a unified team by anchoring our work in shared structures, predictable processes, and an unwavering belief that collaboration is the antidote to chaos. Presenters: Jennifer Ferguson - Principal, Percy Baxter Middle School - Northern Gateway Public Schools; Ashlee Jodry - Assistant Principal and Inclusive Education Facilitator, Percy Baxter Middle School - Northern Gateway Public Schools |
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12:30 - 1:30 pm (Mountain Time)Breakout Session #3 | |
| C1: Quality Learning Environment: NGPS's Cycle for Instructional Leadership This session will explore the robust, iterative instructional leadership cycle implemented by Northern Gateway Public Schools (NGPS) to ensure a high-quality learning environment (QLE) and drive division-wide priorities. Discover the interconnected roles and responsibilities that sustain and deepen the Quality Learning Environment (QLE) across the division, focusing on the strategic alignment of the division priorities as outlined in the Education Plan. This model emphasizes continuous learning, collaborative leadership, and targeted support. Presenter: Leslee Jodry - Deputy Superintendent, Northern Gateway Public Schools |
| C2: Holistic Collaborative Response to Support Indigenous Student Well-Being and Achievement In this session, participants will explore Holistic Collaborative Response (HCR), an approach that is based on kinship between Jigsaw Learning’s Collaborative Response and the Calgary Board of Education’s Indigenous Education Holistic Lifelong Learning Framework. This integration guides educators to take a holistic approach that includes Spirit, Heart, Body, and Mind when caring for the needs of Indigenous students. Through this lens, HCR emphasizes strategies that support both the overall well-being and academic achievement of Indigenous students, ensuring every learner is honoured as a whole person. Using a Holistic Continuum of Supports, participants will gain practical insights into how collaborative structures and data-informed practices can be transformed to reflect Indigenous ways of being, belonging, doing, and knowing to foster meaningful, responsive support. Presenters: Beverly Kinley - Education Specialist, Calgary Board of Education's Indigenous Education Team; Sarah Meade - Learning Specialist, Calgary Board of Education's Indigenous Education Team |
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1:45 - 2:45 pm (Mountain Time)Breakout Session #4 | |
| D1: Collaborative Response Sustainability Practices Within Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools Focused on a practical approach that provides clear pathways to support the continued system wide commitment and utilization of Collaborative Response, this session will review the journey of implementation, and the ongoing refinements of the system wide implementation of Collaborative Response within WRPS. The team will engage in an in-depth share of the current practices developed to support the sustainability of Collaborative Response structures, which includes empowering school administrators with a Collaborative Team Meeting structure monthly to assess and address key areas of concerns. Building, strengthening and ensuring that every administrator has a team is integral to ensuring there are impactful instructional leaders in every school in WRPS. Presenter: Kristien Holtby - Assistant Superintendent of Student Support, Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools |
| D2: Cracking the Code for Tier 1 Work Frustrated with a lack of staff engagement in the development of intervention plans with students who required small but consistent efforts across a high school day? Struggling to share best practices across the silos of curriculum areas? Seeking to create truly inclusive classrooms without overwhelming your staff? Collaborative Response has helped to transform our meeting structures, the ways we communicate and most significantly returned professional engagement in classroom practices. Hear about the steps the student services team and leadership took to introduce Collaborative Response to the Saint John High School environment and some of the learnings along the way. Presenter: Christina Barrington - Principal, Saint John High School - Anglophone School District South |
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| 3:00 - 3:30 pm (Mountain Time) |
