In 2006, Kurtis and Lorna Hewson were educators in a Southern Alberta rural elementary school that began gaining attention for the collaborative structures and processes that were being established to support the diverse needs of students.
Central to this new model was the belief that a systematic, collaborative framework was vital to harnessing the collective expertise in the school, in an effort to ensure the success of every student.
As word spread across the greater educational community, other educators and leaders began to visit the school to learn more about what would later be named the Collaborative Response Model. Over the next two years, invitations and requests increased to present the model to schools and districts, as well as at educational conferences. As a result, Jigsaw Learning, an educational support company, was born.
In 2014, Jigsaw Learning was incorporated and demands for consultation and presentations continued to grow. What began as primarily presentations to schools expanded to focus on ongoing partnerships with districts across the province of Alberta.
In 2015, Kurtis and Lorna (along with the involvement of colleague Jim Parsons) self-published the text “Envisioning a Collaborative Response Model”. Simultaneously, the Jigsaw Learning website was redesigned to reflect the expanding scope of what Jigsaw Learning could be offering in regards to support and learning opportunities.
In 2016, Jigsaw Learning Incorporated was re-envisioned to become a more expansive provider of impactful professional learning, establishing the core mission “to design and deliver meaningful learning experiences and strategic planning support for systems, leaders and collaborative teams”. Kurtis committed to the work and growth of the company full-time in January 2016. As a result of continued requests for support from schools and districts Lorna joined Kurtis full-time in September 2017.
Jigsaw Learning Inc. continues to expand and through the involvement of a growing team of Learning Associates, we aim to not only continue to enhance our ability to support collaborative practices but also widen our areas of expertise and services available to educational organizations, while continuing to build internal and individual capacity. We know our team will continue to grow as we evolve to better meet the needs of our partners.