Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 29/01) - Hugh Fraser sounds like an auctioneer when he reads off the 21 notations on his job description of a principal. Educational leader, judge, detective, transportation director, cheerleader and futurist are just some of the titles on the list.

Thanks to community and legislative expectations, the the job of a principal has grown to encompass a huge variety of tasks.

Today's schools are faced with the challenge of maintaining a workforce of well-supported principals and staff, he said.

Fraser, the president-elect of the Canadian Association of Principals, spoke at the third annual principal's conference at Sir John Franklin high school on Monday.

Some 55 head administrators from all over the NWT attended the two-day session, which was themed "Gathering momentum: addressing effective school leadership."

Some of Fraser's recommendations have already been instituted in the NWT, said Bernie McLean, principal of Sir Alexander Mackenzie School in Inuvik. In his school, seven new and old teachers are currently paired in a formal mentoring program. Such programs are even more necessary in the North where turnover rates are high. "Across the NWT it was 50 per cent this year," he said.

McLean and others mentioned the added difficulty of reflecting their home communities in their staff and programming.

John Bourne, principal of Jean Wetrade Gameti School in Rae Lakes came North from Ontario three years ago. He tells his classes he does not want more people from the south to come North. "We want you (to be teachers and administrators)," he tells his students.

Bourne said much of what Fraser said didn't apply to his situation. Although Fraser called for increased levels of community voluntarism in the classroom, that is simply unrealistic in Rae Lakes. "In my community, a volunteer doesn't step in the classroom unless they're paid $150," Bourne said.

Even so, he said, "It's not really money we need. We need a good recruiting drive, because we need more teachers."