Testimonials

Amber Hester led our staff through a review of our mission and vision as well as team building exercises. Her presentation was delivered in a manner in which all participants felt safe even when discussing vulnerable topics. Amber's feedback helped us move forward in building a stronger sense of team in our building with a renewed focus on why we are educators.

The school review process facilitated by Jigsaw Learning was a valuable experience for our school! It highlighted school successes and led our staff through the process of defining next steps as a school team. We would definitely recommend this process to any school!!

Eckville Elementary School has been fortunate to benefit from the knowledge, skills and experience of Barb Pears on a number of occasions. In particular, we have had a number of students whose behavioural needs we were unable to meet without assistance. In every case, consulting with Barb helped us develop new strategies that left the teachers and Educational Assistants working with these students feeling much more confident in their abilities to work with these students.

Barb used a collaborative, team approach in these meetings that involved all stakeholders – teachers, administrators, specialists and parents – and was very successful in bringing our ideas together into a cohesive plan moving forward.

In addition, Barb was, in every way, professional. She works with stakeholders in a manner that is non-threatening and considerate of their needs, but with a focus on what is best for the student as her primary objective.

Amber Hester guided our staff through exercises to build a shared mission, vision, and values. Amber's workshop was responsive to our specific needs as a staff and Amber adjusted the workshop to allow more/less time to ensure everyone left with a consistent and thorough understanding of our individual and collective responsibility to supporting a strong and effective team culture that is honest and accountable. We are looking forward to applying our new skills to support even more effective collaboration and communication within our team.

For the first time in my professional career, I have weekly embedded time to collaborate with colleagues on students who need support. The ongoing dialogue has allowed for deep discussions about our students and the practices we use to deal with their challenges. It is enlightening to know that my colleagues are experiencing the same struggles and are willing to share their struggles and stories. Through these discussions, a culture of compassion has developed. We understand our students better. We understand our colleagues better. We understand our own teaching better. The trust required for this dialogue did take time to develop. It's easy to build a wall around egos and not admit when we don't have the answers for all our students. Being vulnerable and open during our meetings can only be reached if it is the norm for the process. Once sharing happens and students are discussed openly, the walls naturally start to crumble allowing for real talk about students. It is in these moments we can develop real ... Read more