Prepping for Tomorrow Through Vocational Innovation

How a Manitoba school division is expanding educational pathways to meet regional workforce needs

The Seine River School Division, serving 15 schools across Southeastern Manitoba, operates with a clear two-tier priority system that guides its educational philosophy. Established in 1959 and headquartered in Lorette, the division manages programs ranging from K-12 English and French Immersion to technical-vocational training and adult education.

“For our school division, we have two areas of priorities: board priorities and school division priorities,” explains Colin Campbell, Superintendent and CEO of Seine River School Division. “Board priorities focus on teaching and learning, promoting curiosity, creativity, and innovation. We emphasize working with communities and rights holders, making sure we engage with them to get their perspective on decisions within the school division. Our educational programs reflect community needs and empower students to reach their individual potential.”

The divisional priorities complement this framework through four established pillars: systems wellness, high-quality learning, operational efficiency, and continuous improvement. Campbell notes that these aren’t just abstract concepts but practical guidelines. “System wellness means looking at the wellbeing of staff and students at school. High-quality learning focuses on literacy, numeracy, and French language instruction in our dual-track immersion schools. all viewed through an indigenous educational lens, which is vital to our division and across Manitoba.”

Professional Development and Wellness

Seine River School Division views teacher development as the cornerstone of educational excellence, investing substantially in both professional growth and staff wellbeing programs. “One thing that’s really important to us is ensuring that all staff have opportunities for professional growth and development every year,” says Wendy Bloomfield, who has served on the division’s board for over 40 years. “We work closely with our teachers association and provide them money to look at doing professional development. We also have a divisional wellness committee that provides opportunities for all staff, trying to keep morale at a good level.”

Professional development in Seine River isn’t arbitrary but strategically aligned with divisional goals. The division’s approach connects teaching improvements with measurable student outcomes, allowing for both division-wide consistency and school-specific innovation.

“Professional development needs to be anchored to something or else you’re just picking the latest ideas that aren’t connected to your focus,” Campbell explains. “Each school builds out their plan based on where student improvement is needed. What our staff should feel is alignment between what the division wants to accomplish in literacy, numeracy, and French education—all wrapped in indigenous education—while still giving schools autonomy to create plans specific to their community.”

Addressing Post-COVID Learning Gaps

Operating across southeastern Manitoba’s growing communities, Seine River School Division has identified foundational skills development as crucial for long-term academic recovery and student success. “We definitely highlight the value we hold as a school division in early childhood education,” Campbell says. “We know that even pre-covid, if kids can get off to a good start with experienced teachers at younger ages, our students will be more productive and successful when they reach grades four, five, middle school, and especially high school. Our early literacy focus is an important piece to student success.”

The pandemic’s educational impact continues to reverberate through the system, creating challenges that will require sustained attention over the coming decade. The division is implementing targeted interventions based on detailed analysis of which grade levels were most affected during key developmental periods.

“The trends seen across Canada and North America show there are gaps that have occurred, and those will take time to work through,” Campbell notes. “We know where students were during COVID, what grade they were in, where they are now, and what impacts they might be dealing with. It will take 10-12 years for students to come through our education system who haven’t experienced COVID. We’re supporting their education appropriately.”

This focus on early learning will be further enhanced by the division’s planned expansion. The new vocational high school in Ste. Anne, expected to be completed by 2028, will include early childhood education programming, preparing students for careers in this field while simultaneously addressing the region’s childcare shortage. With reports of facilities in the area having waitlists of up to 500 families, the division is strategically developing educational pathways that both remediate learning gaps and address critical workforce needs in early childhood education.

Academic and Vocational Pathways

Seine River School Division has moved beyond the traditional university-focused educational model to embrace a multi-pathway approach that recognizes diverse student aspirations. “We try to offer a lot of options for students,” explains Yvan St. Vincent, Principal of Ste. Anne Collegiate, which serves approximately 350 students from grades 9-12. “It used to be that if you were in high school, we were preparing you for university. We’ve seen a huge shift in that, as trades and other workforce areas have become very important. Our course offerings appeal to different student interests and passions.”

The division’s comprehensive approach includes specialized programming in family studies and food nutrition alongside traditional academic subjects and technical training. St. Vincent highlights the value of these practical courses in building life skills that benefit all students regardless of career path.

“Those courses are important for all our students because at some point they will start their own families, and these courses help anchor them for those lifestyle choices,” St. Vincent says. “We also offer wood and metal work because those areas are important to many learners. We try to offer something for all students and not pigeonhole that we’re producing 100 percent university students or 100 percent trade students.”

The division’s apprenticeship program stands as a cornerstone of its vocational education strategy, providing real-world experience alongside academic studies. The program’s substantial enrollment demonstrates the region’s strong demand for skilled workers.

“This semester alone, we will probably hand out between 120 and 150 credits in apprenticeship credits,” St. Vincent notes. “That’s a lot of students out in the workforce while also doing a school semester. Our approach appeals to three major learning areas: trades, academics, and those who don’t yet know what they’ll do.”

Approaching the AI Revolution

“AI is new and that’s something we’re certainly dealing with as we go on,” says St. Vincent. “We’re trying to advocate that it is a valuable tool, but obviously it can’t do your high school diploma for you. It is certainly valuable in some areas. We offer several computer science classes along with computer programming and desktop publishing. Some of these are based on essential tools that probably everyone should have as we move through the 21st century.”

The division ensures technology accessibility through various hardware solutions, addressing potential economic disparities among its student population. “Here at the high school, we have specialized computer labs for specific courses. After that, we have many laptops that are available to students and teachers,” St. Vincent explains. “Often teachers will book them out so the entire class can use them, but we always have some for students who need to complete assignments. We’re certainly not lacking in that area.”

At the governance level, the division is developing comprehensive policies around artificial intelligence, informed by recent professional development and research. Campbell indicates this work extends beyond merely restricting AI to actively incorporating it as an educational tool.

“We were at a conference a couple weeks ago with sessions on the impact of artificial intelligence in education globally,” he notes. “It starts with establishing good policy around how to ethically use AI. We must look at things differently now, including how teachers plan lessons, how teachers assess students. At the same time, AI helps some students who need support, creating a level playing field. We’re going to slowly have those conversations about ethics and setting good policy around AI.”

Responding to Community Needs

The Seine River School Division is advancing plans for a new vocational high school in Ste. Anne, marking a significant expansion of the division’s educational infrastructure. This project, first approved in 2023 and recently reconfirmed in the provincial budget, addresses space constraints and workforce development needs in Manitoba’s rapidly growing southeastern region.

“We’ve been announced to get a new high school in a couple of years, and it’s going to be a vocational high school,” St. Vincent explains. “The board and I have really advocated for that vocational piece. We see the value in that for our entire division, not just for this school. We live in a rural area where trades and the workforce are very strong, and a vocational high school would only complement and help support the area.”

The new facility, scheduled for completion by 2028, will be in the northeast part of Ste. Anne. The project aims to alleviate current overcrowding issues, where three schools, elementary, high school, and immersion, share limited facilities with nearly 430 students in a building designed for fewer.

“The newest building that opened here in Ste. Anne just this week mentioned they have 500 folks on their waiting list looking for daycare spots,” St. Vincent notes. “That new school can accomplish a lot, providing early daycare spots, hopefully in the school itself as that’s supposed to be part of the new bills, and having students leave high school ready to enter that workforce to support growing demand.”

The Rewards of Lifelong Learning

The Seine River School Division leadership team embodies the principle of continuous learning, a value reflected in both their professional approach and educational philosophy.

“I certainly believe in lifelong learning,” St. Vincent affirms, connecting this principle to current educational challenges. “As far as education goes, we’re probably in the depths of COVID right now. I have more 18 to 20-year-old students in high school than we ever had. When we dig into that, it’s because they lost years during COVID or fell so far behind that they’re still in high school. It’s actually been valuable having them at 18, 19, 20 years old, to have conversations with students who are 14, 15, 16, to show how important it is to get our education.”

For Campbell, who joined as Superintendent recently, the human element stands as the most rewarding aspect of educational leadership. This perspective aligns with the division’s emphasis on community engagement and student-centered learning.

“Without question, it’s the people we work with in education,” he says. “Our role is to serve kids, their families, and our community. This division is filled with staff that love working with children, which can’t be understated. What I enjoy most is working with our committed board. If we all maintain the lifelong learner mindset, we provide our students with opportunities to be successful, and that’s what excites me every day.”

As Seine River School Division moves forward with its ambitious plans for a new vocational high school by 2028, this focus on lifelong learning and community responsiveness will remain central to its educational mission in southeastern Manitoba, ensuring students develop skills that serve them throughout their careers and lives.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Seine River School Division

What: A school division operating 15 schools with K-12 English and French Immersion programs, technical-vocational training, and adult education

Where: Southeastern Manitoba, Canada

Website: www.srsd.ca