Marilyn Schmitke

As a school district that has been using data to inform practices for some years now, Collaborative Response has provided a structure to collectively increase our capacity to serve a greater number of students. Our school learning teams are understanding the intricate interplay of collaborative structures and processes, data and evidence, and continuums of support and the collective ability these elements have to equip school staff with tools to do their best work. Kurtis Hewson and Marilyn Schmitke understand the push-pull of system change and they navigate the challenges with positivity and wisdom. We are excited for year two with Jigsaw Learning and the opportunity to expand our understanding and refine our application of Collaborative Response.

Our school has benefited from a long and positive relationship with Jigsaw Learning. Initially, we worked closely with Kurtis Hewson to create opportunities for staff collaboration within our timetable and to build the structures that enable teachers to focus entirely on meeting the needs of all students. The change to our school culture was immediately evident making it easy to on-board staff, students, and families new to our building.

Recently, we have had the pleasure of working with and being supported by Marilyn Schmitke. Her breadth of experience and depth of knowledge have been integral in assisting with navigating numerous transitions in our school. Partnering with us to find new paths to collaboration and new ways to communicate, Marilyn has provided the guidance and structure we needed to continue this important work.

Marilyn Schmitke has been an amazing support and resource for our team. The ideas we've received from her consultations have moved our team's progress forwards. Her experience at a Leader in Me school has been valuable as we try to incorporate the 7 Habits into the collaborative process. We highly recommend her!

When coming to Winterburn, it quickly became apparent that Marilyn Schmitke has a core belief in the power and potential of people to affect change when they work together. She presented staff with the opportunity to look at school supports through a lens of student-centred conversations and a targeted approach to interventions - Collaborative Response. Through a strategically crafted plan, creative scheduling and outstanding instructional leadership, Marilyn ensured the implementation of Collaborative Response was successful and sustainable. By her careful design, this strong collaborative environment has resulted in a profound shift in school culture to where teacher collective efficacy drives our work with students. Because of Marilyn's leadership, vision and commitment to supporting all students, we continue to use Collaborative Response as our framework to create structured supports to respond effectively to student's unique needs.

Marilyn Schmitke from Jigsaw Learning facilitated a professional learning opportunity for my teaching staff in August 2019. She prefaced the meeting with multiple conversations with myself to identify staff and school needs and draft a framework for the activities for the day. Marilyn was instrumental in providing me support, who, as a brand new administrator, was uncertain of how to move forward and apprehensive about how to address the sense of team as a new leader. Marilyn was a wealth of knowledge, providing multiple suggestions as to approaches that could be considered as first steps. Marilyn spoke with confidence and supported me through the process. Marilyn facilitated team building activities and then norm-setting with the teaching staff so that I was able to be a participant and work alongside my staff. Marilyn remained positive at all times while being realistic and addressing concerns of the staff through the process. It was an excellent day and set the foundation for an excellent start to... Read more