Horizon S.D. Director of Education happy for start of school year

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While the school year began just last Wednesday, Garinger said the transition back into the classroom has gone well thus far.

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Among the changes for Horizon School Division is implementing the database tool Edsby, which North East School Division has had in place for several years. Garinger said Edsby will help them monitor attendance and better communicate with parents.

The division is also implementing a new financial tool that will allow them to do more things electronically than they have in the past. This is also the first full school year that Horizon is contracting Southland Transportation to operate transportation services across the division.   

The division is also continuing their agricultural initiatives this year, with opportunities for student learning.  

“We’re going to be having a fully operational classroom, essentially, that will be housed in Lanigan, that will allow us to do agriculture right in that environment,” explained Garinger. “Growing different kinds of crops and plants that will be a tremendous learning opportunity for our students not only in Lanigan but from other parts of our system as well.” 

Garinger said the division doesn’t have any major construction projects in the works for 2026-27, but they completed major work on schools in Kelvington and Lanigan that came into effect last year. He added that they have submitted capital project requests to the provincial government so the division can continue to improve schools. The recent rainfall has caused a few water concerns, but Garinger said they continue to work with the affected areas to mitigate future issues. 

Efforts continue to improve reading comprehension across the province, and in Horizon School Division. Garinger said they are excited about screeners for reading for younger students through to Grade 3. Other tools will be utilized for an assessment for other grades in math and English language arts (ELA). 

Garinger said teachers in some schools in the division will also have an opportunity to be part of a pilot project that will support looking at the individualized needs of students. 

“We’re really going to focus on trying to improve the opportunities for our students throughout the course of the school year,” said Garinger. 

The division is also looking to improve student attendance in the classroom. Garinger said they’re doing work behind the scenes to identify what the data is telling them about attendance, and ensuring the division has plans to improve opportunities to have students in the classroom.  

“Attendance matters, there’s no question about it.” 

Garinger believes that having better communication with families through Edsby will help as the division looks to improve student attendance. 

Lower attendance and a drop in literacy and numeracy have all been a byproduct of the pandemic. Garinger said their data shows that those years have had an impact on student learning, but the results are becoming closer to where they were prior to COVID-19. 

“It’s taken some time to get there, but that’s the work that our staff does in our schools every day and our supports that we have in our system that really work hand-in-hand to ensure that we’re meeting the students where they are and then taking them and trying to support them in a positive way.” 

Garinger said the division is also focusing on transitions and graduation rates. He added that the more they can support students through them, the more they can help them through the barriers of learning. Open dialogue and communication will help that and attendance as well, according to Garinger. 

The director said the start of the school year is a great time for Horizon and other divisions across the province.  

“It’s easily one of the greatest times in any educator’s life is to get our kids back,” Garinger said.  He explained that teachers and support staff had time to prepare for the return of the students, and the division looks forward to continuing initiatives like the Christmas Hamper project and the Partnership Pow Wow. 

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com