The New Westminster school district is celebrating after one of its administrators was named one of Canada’s most outstanding principals for 2018.
New Westminster Secondary School principal John Tyler is among 40 principals from across the country recently honoured for their contribution to their school and community by the Learning Partnership, a national charity dedicated to enhancing public education in Canada.
“It’s definitely humbling,” Tyler said in a school district press release. “It’s an honour to be recognized, but it speaks to my team and the teachers’ willingness to create flexibility for meeting the different needs of our students on their individual pathways to success.”
Tyler, who became principal of New Westminster Secondary School in July 2016, was nominated by a group of teachers from the high school, including teacher-librarian Lorena Jones.
Jones described Tyler as a “technology savvy, relationship driven, lifelong learner.”
“The first thing I remember about him was his talk called ‘Fine-Tuning through Failure,’” she said in the release. “He’s a model for our students.”
Tyler was recognized by the Learning Partnership’s national selection committee, which includes leaders from government, business and education. Nominees chosen demonstrate innovation and entrepreneurial spirit and have a proven ability to find creative solutions and opportunities for students, according to a Learning Partnership press release.
Tyler’s work restructuring New Westminster Secondary School’s learning support services to engage all students in improved opportunities for learning helped earn him the award, noted the release.
“(Tyler) champions digital learning as part of 21st century competencies. NWSS now boasts a Learning Commons, makerspaces, 3D printers, and several hundred laptops in order to better support the effective implementation of the revised provincial curriculum. (Tyler) leads by example, integrating technology into practice as a model for enhancing the learning environment,” read the release.
Tyler will be officially recognized alongside the other honourees at a gala in Toronto later this month. The winners will also take part in a five-day executive leadership training program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
