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Superintendent celebrates one-year milestone at FMPSD
By You couldn’t have planned it, scripted it – you couldn’t have seen it coming. Fort McMurray Public School Division’s (FMPSD) Superintendent Jennifer Turner has a story for the books on how her new local career started on March 2, 2020.
Just the first normal week-and-a-half full of all 16 school visits followed by a pandemic, provincial staff cuts, a beloved principal’s death, a 100-year flood, new provincial funding formulas, and so much more. No, as aforementioned, you couldn’t have seen it coming. We are indebted to our amazing leader, who has faced so much with integrity, relentless courage, and kindness for all – as she marks the first year in our Division and community.
Jennifer Turner
Superintendent Turner, who has been happily married for 23 years has three grown children. She just became a grandma this fall as well to a beautiful boy. And, is looking forward to restrictions lifting to allow for trips to Edmonton to see her daughter, son-in-law and grandson.
“My grandson is just wonderful. Although I have had few in-person opportunities to see him due to the restrictions of COVID-19, it has been a joy to move into a new stage of life as a grandparent. My husband and I are looking forward to more in-person time with him.”
Speaking of time, Superintendent Turner along with the support of senior leaders has accomplished so much in a year. She shares a few highlights:
“Nine days into this role, our system was required to respond to substantial changes due to COVID-19. Only a month after that our Division Office and two downtown schools were impacted alongside thousands of other families, residences, and businesses with the historic flood. At the same time, education systems from across the province were presented with a new provincial Assurance Framework and an entirely new funding formula. This has truly been a year unlike any other. I feel the greatest achievement over the past year has been the collaborative, student-focused response to these truly harrowing challenges across all of our employee groups. It has been a collaborative team effort and I am so very proud of our Division.”
“The number of challenges has been great, but through all of these challenges, I have found the staff and community to be exceptional. We have worked together as a team, collaborating with our schools, our parents and our Board to continue to ensure that students are supported in their learning. I am grateful for the educators, community supports, and continued help of our school councils and families during the first year.”
In addition, she comments, there has been “exceptional student achievement with various award winners, grant recipients from arts, theatre, sports, coding, STEM, video production, spelling B’s, mathematics, student leadership, and Indigenous honouring spirit awards.”
“Students have tremendous opportunities to excel in FMPSD as a result of high-quality teaching, exceptional facilities, and strong parent and community support. It is an exciting place to learn and grow. There has been much to celebrate. We were also presented with two school teepees by Suncor, which will be a great addition to our Indigenous curriculum,” Superintendent Turner continues.
Find the full story here on the Fort McMurray Public School Division’s website.
