CCSTA wishes you and your family a Happy Easter.

It's a wonderful time to reflect on the impact Jesus has on our lives and how - when we witness dark days around the world - that there is hope for brighter days.

We hope the Lenten season and this Easter Weekend is one of rejuventation for your faith.

The CCSTA office is closed over Easter Weekend and we'll be back to it Tuesday morning.

 A focus on Aboriginal Education will be front and center at this year’s Canadian School Boards Association National Congress.

Along with hosting its annual National Congress, the CSBA will co-host the National Trustee Gathering on Aboriginal Education with the British Columbia School Trustees’ Association. With a packed schedule filled with several speakers with varied and experienced backgrounds, the Gathering is set to ignite a conversation on Aboriginal Education.

And, according to the BCSTA, it’s been a long-sought-after conversation.

“The National Trustee Gathering on Aboriginal Education was conceived by CSBA in response to people across Canada calling for a forum where sharing successful, effective practices that foster strong Aboriginal student learning outcomes could take place,” explains BCSTA President Teresa Rezansoff. “There are gaps in public education, and the reality is that we are not adequately serving the educational needs of Aboriginal students. As this is an event and topic of significant importance, we felt it was important that we contribute by hosting the gathering in 2017.”

Read more: National Trustee Gathering on Aboriginal Education Expected to Drive Discussion

CCSTA Executive Director Julian Hanlon sat in the interviewee chair last month when he chatted with American education superintendent and podcaster, Timothy Uhl.

Calling it Catholic School Matters, Uhl recently launched a podcast to help Catholic educators learn and gain insight from leaders from across the country and the world.

Uhl aired his interview with Hanlon in February and they chatted about the Canadian Catholic education system.

With American Catholic schools receiving no public funding, Uhl was interested to learn about how Catholic schools operate across Canada.

Hanlon provides a general overview of how Catholic schools run in each province and territory. They then delved into how school boards connect with the Catholic Church and the provincial government particularly when developing policy for the Catholic schools. They also hit on maintaining Catholic identity, French Immersion programming and the Toonies for Tuition program.

Hanlon’s 36-year-long experience working in the Catholic education system made him well versed to answer the questions and provides Uhl’s listeners with insight on the Catholic education framework across the provinces and territories.

Take a listen to the interview on Timothy Uhl’s Podcast.