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Langley’s new superintendent of schools talks about her priorities for District 35 MoNique taMMiNga Times Reporter
It’s the start of a new school year and for new Langley Superintendent Suzanne Hoffman, it’s the first full school year in charge of one of the few growing school districts in B.C. A shiny new elementary school, Lynn Fripps, will welcome students on the first day of school, Tuesday, Sept. 4 (today). Construction of a nearby middle school and elementary school in southeast Yorkson are underway, and there is still discussion about where to build more schools in Willoughby to handle the influx of young families to the area. Whether there should be more middle schools and more reconfiguration to address overcrowding and under capacity now falls on the lap of Hoffman, who was hired by the Board of Education in spring. The Times sat down with Hoffman to find out what she wants to bring to Langley’s education system during her tenure. She fills the seat left by Cheryle Beaumont, whose departure was surrounded by controversy. It was a stressful time for staff at the district office, where Hoffman was Beaumont’s assistant superintendent. Beaumont was fired by the Board of Education after a shift in power following the last election. There was controversy over accounting errors which resulted in an unexpected $13 million deficit, and lasting resentment about H.D. Stafford’s transformation to a middle school. Hoffman was appointed by the board as acting superintendent shortly afterwards. Hoffman’s goal, she says, is to truly be as open and inclusive about the decisions made that impact all Langley students. “Change is the only constant,” said Hoffman inside her new office in the school district building at the top of Hospital Hill. “We need to build trust with the community so there are no surprises for them.” She is willing to look at everything from changing the traditional calendar of the school year, to reconfiguration of schools and creating more middle schools — but all with plenty of dialogue and input with the community first, she stressed. She said her number one priority is at the foundations of a good education, making sure Langley’s school environment allows for each and every student to succeed. She is passionate about innovations in education that enhance reading, writing and math. She is still very much rooted in her teaching history. “My focus, above and beyond, is student
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Langley School District Superintendent Suzanne Hoffman stands outside Lynn Fripps Elementary School in Willoughby. achievement. We have excellent graduation results but we need to do even better. We know there is a correlation between the success of a student and his or her life chances,” said Hoffman, who is a “glass half full” kind of person. She said capacity issues will need to be addressed.
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“Schools that are not at capacity, I want to look at how we build on school programs to attract new students,” she asks. “We are talking with the Township about its plans and intentions on future development, looking at trends over time,” she said. continued, PAGE 5
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An emergency prompted the evacuation of Walnut Grove Community Centre for about an hour on Thursday (Aug. 30.) The centre, which was filled with 275 people, including 50 children in summer camp, was evacuated after the discovery of a cardboard box marked ‘radioactive waste.’ The package had markings indicating the contents were likely medical supplies, said Langley RCMP spokesman Cpl. Holly Marks. The suspicious item was isolated to an area inside the building, and was inspected by the RCMP’s Explosives Disposal Unit which found no radioactive reading coming from the box. The force’s Forensic Identification Service is trying to determine if the person who left the box also left fingerprints. “Police do not believe there was ever any intended threat towards the community centre or any individual there,” Marks said. “The medical materials had markings indicating they were intended for a specific patient,” she said, adding that police will follow up with the person to find out how the box came to be in the community centre. The facility, at 8889 Walnut Grove Drive, is Langley’s busiest recreation and leisure centre. Township recreation director David Leavers said that staff are trained to perform evacuations, and arranged for food and drinks for camp participants who had to leave their lunches behind.
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