The annual list of Canada’s outstanding principals, selected by The Learning Partnership, is out and many students, families, staff and colleagues are not surprised that Chris Hadfield Public School principal Robin Dashnay is one of 30 selected.
The importance of relationships is part of Dashnay’s personal philosophy honed during his 20 years as an educator with the Simcoe County District School Board.
“Relationships first,” said Dashnay, who is also a former principal at Barrie's Oakley Park. “Positive relationships with the staff, the students and the families. If you have those trusting relationships, you can work together and make changes… have honest conversations about the work that needs to be done.”
As for knowing the names of all of his students, Dashnay said, “Names are important to me, and I know it’s important to kids. If you know who they are, that’s important to them.”
Not only is Dashnay out in the schoolyard every day – welcoming students to class, supervising at recess, and saying goodbye after school – he invites students to celebrate their achievements.
“A lot of kids will show me their work,” he said, “or they share their reading success, and come and read to me.”
It’s that kind of connection and support for the students that led to his nomination for the prestigious award – nominations that came not only from parents, school council members and colleagues at Chris Hadfield in Bradford, where he has been principal since 2017, but from his previous school, Oakley Park Public School in Barrie, where he was principal for two years.
Dashnay also received letters of endorsement from Bradford West Gwillimbury Coun. Raj Sandhu, and from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Barrie & District, for his work in fostering a partnership that brought Big Brother and Big Sister mentors into Oakley Park.
Rod Thompson, director of the Executive Leadership Program at The Learning Partnership, explained the nomination process that has seen 500 outstanding principals honoured since 2005.
“It’s an extensive process,” Thompson said, and one that requires commitment from the nominators, who must fill out the online forms by the October deadline. Once completed, the nominations are “vetted” by a panel of adjudicators.
“We have an amazing group of business leaders, education leaders, community leaders,” who assess the nominations based on a number of criteria, Thompson said. This includes student achievement, leadership, innovation, involvement in professional learning teams, personal development, and partnerships with families and school communities.
Winners are selected based on “representation by population, across all provinces and territories,” he added, but all of the winners have certain things in common.
“Most of them are gob-smacked. They are truly humbled by it,” said Thompson. “They truly want what’s good for their schools.”
Dashnay fits the mold. “Robin really is a bedrock in that school and in that school community,” Thompson said, “working at building positive relationships with his students, his staff, his community.”
Chris Hadfield Public School is one of the most culturally diverse schools within the board, and it has benefited from the partnerships Dashnay has created with community service providers, the supports that have been put in place, the focus on mental health and special education – all of the steps taken “to really ensure students’ progress,” said Thompson.
Dashnay himself said that it has been his goal, in a diverse school and diverse community, to ensure that “every student sees themselves reflected in their curriculum, and in this building.”
It’s about inclusion, and engagement.
“It’s beautiful – the different cultures, the different communities all coming together, to share,” said Dashnay. “We let the students take the lead with it. It’s a great community.”
Dashnay fits the mold in another way. He is humble about his win, crediting his team and school.
“I’m surrounded by an outstanding team of dedicated professionals, parents and students,” he said. “It’s very humbling to be honoured, and to be recognized by the community. I’ve learned as much from my staff and my families and my students, as I hope they’ve learned from me.”
Dashnay only found out about the award a few weeks ago. “They did all this without me knowing a thing,” he said.
But the news has spread quickly, on Twitter and through the school grapevine. “I’m getting a lot of congratulatory messages from my intermediate students. It got out fast!”
Dashnay and the other winners will be honoured at a gala in Toronto on Feb. 26, and invited to attend a four-day Executive Leadership Program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, where they will receive training in “vision-building, change management, teaming. We have speakers who come in for them as well,” said Thompson, on topics that include exponential technologies and artificial intelligence.
The Learning Partnership is a charity that, through the collaboration of business, education and government, aims to support students to become critical thinkers and life-long learners, by taking education beyond the classroom.
“From Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, to Vancouver, B.C., to Richmond, PEI, we are honoured to recognize principals from coast to coast to coast,” said Debra Kerby, president and CEO of The Learning Partnership.
“Principals are so important to the success of our schools and our students. They ensure our schools are dynamic, engaging places to learn, and that students are inspired every single day. These principals are enabling students to thrive in an increasingly diverse and changing world.”
