Ben Grebinski: Superintendent of School Operations, Administrative Services and Technology, Regina Catholic Schools

This week, Stephen Ibaraki, has an exclusive interview with Ben Grebinski.

In 2005, Ben was the recipient of the 2005 Computing Canada IT Leadership: IT Executive of the Year Award. Computing Canada is the largest, oldest, and most influential No.1 bi-weekly print business technology publication. The Computing Canada IT Leadership Awards represent the highest of honours for the industry with an estimated size of 500,000 to 800,000 professionals:

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=37910&cid=12

Ben Grebinski is currently a superintendent for Regina Catholic Schools in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His educational career spans twenty-nine years and includes experience as a high school teacher, assistant principal, principal, athletic coach, and systems trainer. He has worked as a lecturer in the College of Education and Graduate Studies Program at the University of Regina. He currently serves on several provincial educational review committees and is a member of the University of Regina Senate.

Throughout his career, Ben has focused on school improvement, with the conviction that every child can learn. The work of Dr. Larry Lezotte of Effective Schools, Inc. has deeply influenced Ben's approach to school reform. Ben has used the tenets of Effective Schools as well as other school improvement models, including Professional Learning Communities at Work (PLC).  He developed an improvement framework with accountability that paid off in dramatic improvement in student accomplishment.

A popular and dynamic speaker, Ben infuses his presentations with the passion of an educator who has focused his career on the conviction that all students can learn, regardless of the resources they bring to school. He has presented at many conferences in Canada and the United States, at both the school and government agency level. His message, that "school improvement is simple, but not easy," is approachable and substantive. Ben thrives on the energy that a group of educators generates and customizes his presentation according to the desired direction of the host.

Discussion:

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

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The latest blog on the interview can be found on April 10, 2006 in the Canadian IT Managers (CIM) forum where you can provide your comments in an interactive dialogue.
http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers/archive/2006/04/10/424696.aspx

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic
00:40:		How has the work or concept of "Effective Schools" influenced your approach to school reform?
01:35:5:		Can you comment on how you used the school improvement models of something called "Professional learning Communities at Work"?
03:46:		What does the "digital divide" mean to you? How do you solve these challenges?
06:36:		Can you describe five major problem areas and how you address them?
09:21:		What new government policies would you recommend and how should they be implemented?
11:125:		What kinds of technology do you use to support schools, educators, and students?
12:145:		What kinds of technology would you like to have?
13:58:		Where do you see this heading in three years and in five years?
15:255:		How is your environment different from a corporate one?
19:185:		What five lessons have you learned from your long career of successes that will be of value to the audience?
21:30:		What sort of processes support team spirit and collaboration?
24:53:		What are you looking for in your hiring practices? How would you rank people skills, experience, education, and vendor certification?
29:45:		Can you explore five topics of interest to a national audience?
31:35:		What are the top priorities for senior IT managers and how should they be addressed?
33:51:		What attributes make for an effective executive? Describe your feelings in receiving the national Computing Canada IT Executive of the Year Award?