The Director of the Bluewater District School Board has released her annual report for 2009.
Mary Anne Alton highlights a number of achievements the board made during the course of the year.
They include a Specialist High Skills Major program in agriculture with the University of Guelph, a dual credit program with Georgian College, and the new Bluewater Education Centre in Chesley.
Alton says the report also highlights how the community supports student learning throughout the board, the many ways staff have developed in order to improve student instruction, as well as learning opportunities students have had that position them well for their future.
2009 was a rough year at times for the Bluewater Board.
In March, Chair Rick Galbraith resigned and there was a public outcry over board transparency and communications.
That has since led to a review of policies, procedures, and community satisfaction.
The recommendations from those reviews are in the process of being implemented.
Alton believes most of the challenges have been at the political, governance, and leadership level.
She acknowledges the board might not have been doing a good enough job at communicating its educational successes in a positive way.
She says the boards focus remains on providing the best quality education for students, and notes there is evidence of that happening in all 51 schools in Bluewater.
