Episodes

Join us at the Annual Collaborative Response Retreat https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/events/retreat In this weeks podcast, Kurtis and Lorna discuss the importance of ongoing modelling by the leader to move Collaborative Response efforts forward in the school, focusing on developing leadership capacity across the organization. Connected Resources: Observing a Collaborative Team Meeting resources - https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/observing-collaborative-team-meeting Facilitating Effective Collabora...

Check out the FREE webinar - 5 Mistakes Leaders Make When Organizing Data for Teams - https://bit.ly/5mistakesdata In this SUNDAY REWIND of Leading Collaborative Response, Lorna and Kurtis explore how colour-coding data can be used to support discussions about students and how the same data can be reorganized to be used for different purposes. --------- Connect with Kurtis Hewson Email kurtis.hewson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @hewsonk27 LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kurtishewson Connect...

Are you a school leader looking for a framework that drives real results? Learn from fellow leaders at the 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 who are creating a highly coordinated approach to student and staff success. 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲. 👉 https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/events/retreat 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 will give you the tools and confidence to lead structured, engaging, and impactful team ...

In this SUNDAY REWIND of Leading Collaborative Response, Lorna and Kurtis are joined by the Leadership Team at Joan Carr Catholic School, located in Edmonton, Alberta. The team shares what Collaborative Response looks like in their K-9 school of roughly 800 students, only in its second year of existence. They share the impact that it is having for students and staff and how the Collaborative Response mindset has helped envision a powerful approach they’ve come to call “TLC”! --------- Connect ...

In this weeks podcast, Kurtis and Lorna discuss the advantages of meeting regularly as a adminstrative team. Regardless of the size of the team, it's important to carve out regular time to be responsive and focus forward. Connected Resources: Focused collaboration doesn’t need constant leader control. Learn how teams can plan with purpose using clear structures, practical templates, and shared ownership—plus replay access anytime. bit.ly/collabfocus Pigeon Lake Team Meeting Overview - https://...

In this SUNDAY REWIND of Leading Collaborative Response, Jennifer and Lorna discuss the adjustments that need to be made when developing a continuum of supports focused on behaviour or attendance needs of students. A continuum of supports can become a powerful resource for school teams, but it is important to look below the surface regarding what is being communicated through behavior and attendance concerns and how best to support those root causes. --------- Connect with Lorna Hewson Email l...

The Emotional Truth of School Leadership: Why 'Caring' is Not Enough To every principal, teacher, and district leader who has ever felt overwhelmed: This video is for you. We take you inside two very different schools: Castaway Elementary, where dedicated teacher Mrs. Hart is battling student struggle alone, and Robinson Elementary, where Mrs. Gonzales and her team are thriving thanks to a powerful system of supports. The difference isn't the effort—it's the structure. In Castaway, teachers a...

Are you a school leader looking for a framework that drives real results? Learn from fellow leaders who are creating a highly coordinated approach to student and staff success. Get your ticket today. Join US! 👉 https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/events/retreat In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Kurtis sits down with Kris Herbert and Deanna Sloan, members of the administrative team at Roland Michener Secondary School, to explore how intentional leadership practices shape school cultur...

Access the FREE webinar “5 Mistakes Leaders Make When Organizing Data” - https://bit.ly/5mistakesdata Locus of Control Activity: https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/publications/blog-posts/so-what-can-we-control-articulating-our-locus-control In this SUNDAY REWIND of Leading Collaborative Response, Lorna and Kurtis are joined by the Superintendent of Grasslands School Division, Scott Brandt, and the principal of Bassano School, Brita Goldie. In the conversation, we explore how the division has imple...

In this weeks podcast, Kurtis and Lorna share why pre-meeting organizers are critical for the collaborative team meeting to be focused and some strategies for ensuring they are completed in advance of the CTM. Connected Resources: Facilitating Effective Collaborative Team Meetings online course - https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/publications/courses/facilitating-effective-collaborative-team-meetings Pre-Meeting Organizer blog posting (includes links to various templates discussed in this episode)...

Access the FREE webinar "10 Considerations To Transform Your Team Meetings" https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mDZC7jGCIgL4TA99MZbJDxReYGEU0pmq?usp=drive_link In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Kurtis has the opportunity to engage with Vice Principal Colin Desynoyers, currently part of the leadership team at St. Mary’s Junior High School in Medicine Hat, Alberta, discussing his reflections and advice to leaders engaging in Collaborative Response, based on his experiences in...

In this weeks podcast, Kurtis and Lorna preview the Collaborative Response Retreat, happening May 1-2, 2026 in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. They not only share the unique format for the Retreat to engage in learning, networking and team planning, but also share how to sign up for notification when an early and exclusive registration window opens on January 26, with a bonus gift for anyone who registers during this early registration window! Connected Resources: Collaborative Resposne Retreat websi...

In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Lorna and Kurtis have an opportunity to engage with Kari Huk, principal of Woodbridge Farms Elementary with Elk Island Public Schools. Kari shares her Collaborative Response journey, what the work looks like specifically at her current school and some outstanding lessons learned along the way. --------- Connect with Kari Huk Email kari.huk@eips.ca Twitter @archk3 Connect with Kurtis Hewson Email kurtis.hewson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @hewson...

In this weeks podcast, Kurtis and Lorna discuss the key issue process, integral to the collaborative team meeting discussion, and share some ideas to help support the team in crafting effective key issues in relation to students, to be examined and responded to in the meeting. Connected Resources: CTM Agenda/Notes template - https://docs.google.com/document/d/18JRKvKdmpU4T08q2ignB_fANUgM92pNM3fJ678DxUK8/edit?usp=sharing Observing the Collaborative Team Meeting resources - https://www.jigsawlea...

In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Jennifer, Lorna and Kurtis engage in a conversation with Nancy Roy Halun, principal of Ecole Notre Dame, a francophone school of 445 Kindergarten to Grade 6 students. Nancy shares some of the key lessons she has learned through implementing Collaborative Response in her school, including the value of being purposeful in planning and how intentionally aligning the layers of teams ensures clarity and focus for their staff team when discussing the ...

Join US!! At the Annual Collaborative Response Retreat https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/events/retreat How can system leaders use Collaborative Response to better support schools, staff, and students? In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Kurtis and Lorna Hewson are joined by Kari Huk and Corey Kropp, Assistant Directors of Supports for Students with Elk Island Public Schools. Together, they explore how Collaborative Response structures and processes have been used at the system leve...

In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Jennifer, Lorna and Kurtis have the opportunity to meet with Erin Norrish, Early Learning Coordinator with Grasslands School Division in southern Alberta, to discuss how her and her team have implemented Collaborative Response with their Early Learning team. See below for resources mentioned in this episode and additional resources. --------- Connect with Erin Norrish Email erin.norrish@grasslands.ab.ca Connect with Kurtis Hewson Email kurtis...

In this episode 25 of Leading Collaborative Response, Jennifer and Kurtis ask the question. “Are you aligning your school goals to make the biggest impact?” --------- Connect with Kurtis Hewson Email kurtis.hewson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @hewsonk27 LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kurtishewson Connect with Jennifer Ferguson Email jennifer.ferguson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @_MrsFerguson_ Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-dickson-ferguson/ --------- Related Resources Scaffol...

In this weeks podcast, Kurtis and Lorna discuss the message we send our team when we label the collaborative team meeting as a "collaborative response meeting". Learn why, over time, we need to understand as an organization that Collaborative Response is bigger than just a single meeting. Join us to hear more. Connected Resources: Scaffolding our Collaborative Response blog posting - https://www.jigsawlearning.ca/publications/blog-posts/scaffolding-our-collaborative-response-purposeful-layering...

In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Jennifer and Lorna explore ways to intentionally and meaningfully engage with the Continuum of Supports to enhance our educational practice and support our collaborative culture to best serve our students. --------- Connect with Lorna Hewson Email lorna.hewson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @LornaHewson LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorna-hewson-713a59104 Connect with Jennifer Ferguson Email jennifer.ferguson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @_Mrs...

Access the Facilitating Effective CTMs course to help make your collaborative team meetings more productive, engaging, and impactful https://bit.ly/facilitatectm In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Lorna and Kurtis are joined by Terri Peterson, Superintendent of Learning Services with Edmonton Catholic Schools, the fourth largest metro board in the province of Alberta. Terri has been a passionate advocate for collaboration throughout her journey, and she shares how the division c...

In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Jennifer and Kurtis discuss big rocks as they pertain to the Continuum of Supports: narrowing the focus of universal instructional practices to a handful of high impact strategies that can be agreed upon as non-negotiable across all classrooms in a school or district. Connect with Kurtis Hewson Email kurtis.hewson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @hewsonk27 LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kurtishewson Connect with Jennifer Ferguson Email jennifer...

In this weeks podcast, Kurtis and Lorna discuss considerations when establishing a school wide intervention block. A significant amount of planning and decision making needs to be explored prior to getting started. Timetabling for the intervention block, data and evidence used to inform student groupings, grouping students in small intervention group and lesson planning just to name a few. Join us to hear more. Connected Resources: Establishing Student Entry Criteria blog - https://www.jigsawle...

In this episode of Leading Collaborative Response, Jennifer and Kurtis discuss the initial process of articulating a continuum of supports and the subsequent, ongoing, iterative process of continually refining this menu as we engage as lifelong learners. Connect with Kurtis Hewson Email kurtis.hewson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @hewsonk27 LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kurtishewson Connect with Jennifer Ferguson Email jennifer.ferguson@jigsawlearning.ca Twitter @_MrsFerguson_ Linkedin https...