Superintendent Bevan Daverne Receives Excellence in School System Leadership Award
Bevan Daverne, Superintendent for Golden Hills School Division, received the provincial EXL Award for Excellence in School System Leadership at the Annual General Meeting of the College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS), held March 17, 2022. Jointly sponsored by Xerox Canada Ltd. and the Canadian Association of School System Administrators (CASSA), this prestigious award is granted to outstanding school system leaders who exhibit exemplary leadership ability and have enhanced the profession of school system administration over the course of their careers.
As the Alberta recipient of the EXL Award, Bevan will be the CASS nominee for the national EXL Award as Canadian Superintendent of the Year, to be announced at the CASSA Conference, which will be held at St. Andrews By-The-Sea, NB from July 6 – 8, 2022.
Consideration for the EXL award is given to those system education leaders who
• guide children’s educational experiences, • establish the character of a school system’s programs through the important work with school boards, school leaders, teachers, and parents, • shape children’s attitudes towards learning and their perceptions of themselves as lifelong learners, and • establish model effective leadership and mentoring.
Golden Hills’ implementation of its “powerful learning” instructional leadership approach has reflected Bevan’s moral imperative for demonstrating success for all students. Based upon research principles for improving student learning, Bevan’s approach to furthering such research has begun with articulating this information through a clearly stated, online resource that would be frequently used as a basis for professional dialogue throughout the jurisdiction. A robust system of support through district teacher collaboration days, instructional coaches, teacher supervision, professional learning opportunities, focus groups and school Powerful Learning proposal grants helps to move this important work forward in classrooms. This work and the successes for students are regularly celebrated through social media and divisional websites. This highly intentional and supportive approach has resulted in demonstrable gains for the improvement of student learning over time.
Furthering the jurisdiction as a community connector and partner has been critical to Bevan’s leadership influence. Innovations in trades education, the development of an online learning academy, and targeted community and business partnerships resulting in two new schools and two modernizations in the last seven years have aptly showcased the integration of the jurisdiction’s school communities with unique student learning opportunities as well as the aspirations of broader municipal and regional communities throughout the division.
Board Chair, Laurie Huntley, in affirming Bevan’s leadership skills has most appropriately stated the rationale for this recognition. “Bevan is an individual who demonstrates both the science and the art of leadership,” Huntley remarks. “He models the highest ethical standards of conduct and maintains a commitment to personal and professional growth.” Daverne’s provincial colleagues in system education leadership would certainly agree, noting that Bevan played a significant role as CASS president from 2019 - 2021 in liaising with the Ministry of Education to support CASS’ recent attainment of self-regulatory professional status. CASS congratulates Bevan for his efforts to enhance in the public’s interest, the quality of system education leadership in our province.
