Services ~ Educational Consultant
My role as Educational Consultant revolves around helping organizations develop and sustain learning programs. The first step usually involves information gathering sessions to listen to the goals and needs of the school or learning organization. Then we work collaboratively to design and deliver a series of workshops to the teachers and staff to educate them on how best to achieve the mandated learning objectives.
The initial workshops provide an opportunity to gather and organize what we have learned together into materials and strategies that can be used to spread the knowledge to the greater community, whether that be schools, community groups or other organizations. I offer what I know and have learned over the past 30 years and add that to the richness of the group’s combined knowledge, wisdom and experience in their particular environments. Together we create a well-conceived and well-organized program to further the educational goals established during the initial sessions.
Another critical piece of my work as Educational Consultant is sustained, ongoing support, coaching and review of progress. This component is as important as any other, and is very often overlooked or glossed over once the initial programs have been developed and implemented. Regular, consistent review, support and adjustment is necessary in order for any program to stay relevant and successful. I am available to coach, mentor, deal with problems and conflict situations as they arise. Being an independent consultant provides me with a unique perspective. I am both inside and outside the organization. I have no vested interest in protecting the status quo or my own job. Therefore I can often provide clarity and objective vision for the most challenging situations, while always adhering to the “norms” of mutual respect, inclusiveness, active participation and attentive listening. Everything we do, we do together in a collaborative and respectful framework. This applies to every project and group I work with.
My experience has been very rewarding for me and for the organizations who have trusted me with this very important role. Here are some of my success stories:
Pathways, The South Bay Center for Counseling, Los Angeles, California
Spanaway Elementary School, Spanaway, WA, U.S.A.
George Brown College, Toronto, ON
John Ross Robertson Child Centre
Canadian Center for Diversity, Toronto and across Canada
Wausaksing School, Parry Sound, ON
Toronto District School Board (various schools)
