Aspen View Public Schools’ new superintendent Neil O’Shea says he is laser-focused on student achievement and learning, while recognizing all the work that has been done in the past.
In a school division news release dated Sept. 27, Aspen View announced that O’Shea — who has been with Aspen View since 2014 — would be taking over for former superintendent Mark Francis, who tendered his resignation at a special board of trustees meeting July 30.
O’Shea has served as acting superintendent since Aug. 8. He said he felt that “all of the stars have aligned” for him to take over the position.
“It’s not every day that people have the confidence in you to run a school division,” he said. “The fact that that’s happened for me, and the fact that it’s a good fit, means to me that the stars have aligned and I am looking forward to moving forward.”
He said the key business is student achievement and learning, and the division needs to stay focused on that, as well as supporting the student-teacher relationship in classes.
O’Shea said so much of the success in education relies on relationships built with people, and that comes from clear communication.
“I think we need to do a better job of telling our story,” he said. “I think Aspen View has a fantastic story, and we need to make sure that’s getting out there … We need to find those nuggets of greatness and excellence that are evident in all of our schools, and make sure we’re highlighting those nuggets to our greater community.”
Challenges that O’Shea said he will have to deal with are numeracy in the school division,
“I think we need to take a hard look at our math scores and find out what’s going on,” he said. “And really do an analysis of numeracy and math in our schools.”
As for enrolment, he said the school division wants to maintain strong, healthy communities and good schools in those communities.
“Certainly, in rural Alberta, we look at declining enrolment as a threat to some stability in some of our schools,” he said. “The way we counter that is by having excellent programs and good teachers in classrooms.”
All in all, O’Shea said he is going into his new position feeling an “overwhelming amount of support,” from staff and community members. He said he thinks that “people matter,” and he gets support back from those around him because of it.
“Education is a business — a people business,” he said. “It’s all about people, and relationships and moving forward, so it’s important. It’s very important. People matter.”
