Dean kicks off season six of the Canadian Ed Leadership Show with a nostalgic conversation about his hometown of Morden, Manitoba, and an interview with Western School Division superintendent Steven Jaddock. Jaddock shares his path from teaching and leadership in Dauphin/Mountain View School Division to his first year in Morden, describing the community’s unusual sustained rural growth, increasing diversity, and resulting pressure for new school capacity. They discuss Manitoba’s unique local school taxation, ongoing budget cycles and advocacy for improved provincial funding formulas, and a more open relationship with the current education ministry. Jaddock outlines supports for newcomers through EAL funding, settlement workers, and partnerships, acknowledges challenges of inclusion and limited rural capacity for specialized needs, and previews plans for AI guidelines, expanded technical-vocational learning, learning on the land, and relationship-centered culture.

00:00 Relationships First
00:39 Season Six Kickoff
01:06 Nostalgia for Morden
03:22 Meet Steven Jaddock
03:51 Why Move to Morden
05:13 Community Growth and Diversity
11:03 Leading Through Listening
14:46 Manitoba Education Dynamics
16:21 Funding and Local Taxation
19:24 Government Relations
22:15 Supporting Newcomers
25:25 Inclusion Capacity Challenges
30:47 Partnerships Solve Problems
34:38 AI in Schools
40:46 Five Year Vision
41:37 Tech Voc and Land Learning
44:57 Staff Culture and Purpose
46:51 Rapid Fire Questions
49:42 Hidden Gems of Morden