Governance

The levels of Governance in the school system is a little confusing.  Generally though the hierarchy from top to bottom goes as follows: provincial government, school division and school board, superintendent of schools, principal, vice principal, teachers and staff.  Basically the Government level is responsible for the laws in education, the Board level stipulates the rules and the school division puts the rules in to policy to be implemented by the school.
Knowing this hierarchy and what each level is responsible for is very important to me as a teacher.  I must be aware of where decisions are being made and who the people are making them.  I believe in order to be effective and make changes, if needed, you need to know how the system that you are part of works.  Like the financial aspect of the education system it is part of my job to know who controls what and who to go to if I need something or want to implement a change.  I also need to know my role and what I personally have control over.  I wouldn't want to make a decision and then later find out I had no authority to make that decision.  That would reflect poorly on me and the school I work for.  It would also be important for me to know what the Education Act entails as it is that document that the Provincial Government follows in making their decisions, and it is the law that I must as a teacher abide by.  It is a necessity that I know what my responsibilities are as a teacher and how the education system is governed.