Susan Larosa

An Invitation to Become a Whole District Learning Environment Susan Larosa

What makes a Whole District Learning Environment unique?

There are five conditions that exist in harmony in a Whole District Learning Environment:
- the district's strategies are synergistic;
- individuals in every role are continually learning;
- all stakeholders work as collaborative partners;
- the district is in service to all schools; and
- resources are leveraged into whole district practices.

Why become a Whole District Learning Environment?
- to achieve strategic outcomes;
- to pass along the practices of lifelong learning and service to future generations;
- to fulfill the district's mission, values, vision, and strategy;
- to enable all schools to apply well-formulated, best-available learning practices; and
- to make targeted gains in the learning and development of the whole district's students.

As the chair of the pioneering board of the Whole District Learning Environment, Elizabeth Crowe provided consistency in governance. Here in the following quote from a board meeting in 2006, she reflects brilliantly on the dynamic energy and evolving features of the district:

"Our focus on everyone--child, teacher, administrator, and parent--as lifelong learners has turned our school communities into engaged, vibrant hubs of activity focused on student achievement. Our board is recognized as a leader in the province for its innovative teaching methods, its curriculum development teams, its integration of character education into a Catholic school system, and its business practices that redirect scarce dollars into the classroom."
--York Catholic District School Board