Member - John Churchley

Assistant Superintendent - Human Resources
School District #73 (Kamloops/Thompson)

Adjunct Professor
Thompson Rivers University

Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

My career path has been like a series of different dances, but it has allowed me to combine my passion for the arts and my inclination towards leadership.

I am a teacher – I began my career teaching elementary and high school music and mathematics. Seeing the expression on a child’s face at the moment of cognition never ceases to generate an aesthetic response in me. For this, I shall forever be a teacher.

I am a conductor – Conducting for me is literally a dance leading sound. I have conducted concert bands and jazz bands, and on a few special occasions the warm buoyancy of a string orchestra. However, the bulk of my experience and my passion is with choirs – school choirs, church choirs, and community choirs. I am a former conductor of  the Thompson Rivers University Chorus.

I am an artist – in the broad sense of the word. I sing, I play the trumpet, and as you can see from my photo, I play the ukelele. I also like to paint, draw, take photographs, and I have been the sadly outnumbered male participant in an adult contemporary dance class.

I am an arts consultant – I have worked as a school district Fine Arts Coordinator. In this role , I organized music festivals, art exhibitions and produced other arts events. I also presented workshops in the pedagogy and curriculum of the fine arts (art, music, drama, and dance). This work in the arts lead me naturally into workshops on team-building, staff development, and risk-taking.

I am an educational leader – I have been the vice principal of rural and urban secondary schools. This role has its own dances: between manager and instructional leader; and among the complex relationships of teachers, students, and parents.

I am an arts educational leader – I was the founding Principal of Beattie School of the Arts - a K-8 public school in Kamloops, British Columbia.

I am a management leader - I am in charge of Human Resources for a K-12 Public School District of       14, 000 students and 1,800 employees.  My dance continues as I negotiate the world of Labour Relations and employee support.

I am an academic - I have an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Nottingham and hold the honorary appointment of Adjunct Professor at Thompson Rivers University. My research interests include the nature of the aesthetic experience, strategic aesthetics as a means to organizational development (especially school improvement), and performing arts leaders as archetypal leaders (especially the conductor). These interests have lead me to AACORN. I hope to share in discussions with the group about my research, my passions, and our various dances.

email: jchurchley@aacorn.net or jchurchley@sd73.bc.ca

Publications & Papers:

"A Model of Teacher Leadership in 30 Minutes or Less" References

“Capturing the “plaid” moment: The use of practitioner research and student researchers in researching experiences with the arts” (2010) in Thomson, P; Sefton-Green, J. (Eds.) Researching Creative Learning London: Routledge.

“ iReflection: reflection as an MP3 Player” (2007) Leadership Compass The Banff Centre: Banff, Alberta.

Book and article reviews in “Annotated Bibliography” (2005) , Buswick, Ted; Seifter, Harvey (Ed.) Journal of Business Strategy 26 (5)

"Process and/or Product: the philosophy and practice of aesthetic education in a fine arts school" (2005, July) paper presented at the Third International Conference on Imagination and Education, Vancouver, B.C.

"Teacher Professional Development: A Collaborative Model" (2005) Snapshots: The Specialist Schools Trust Journal of Innovation in Education 1 (4), 23-25.

“The Maestro Executive” (2004) Leadership Compass The Banff Centre Leadership Development Program.

“The Teacher Career Cycle Game and its applications for staff development” (2002, November) paper presented at a doctoral seminar, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

“The Teacher Career Cycle Game.” (2001) self-published game, Kamloops, BC.

“Everybody’s Free to Wear Hearing Protection.” (2000) B.C. Music Educator 43(1), 36-37.

“Arts Program Evaluation: advocacy from within.” (1999) In Hanley, B. (Ed.) Leadership, Advocacy, Communication: A Vision for Arts Education in Canada (pp 155-168). Victoria: Canadian Music Educators’ Association.

“Music 8-10: Integrated Resource Package” (1995) With Anderson, A.; Bigland, J.; Griffith, S.. Victoria: British Columbia Ministry of Education.

“New Teacher Idea & Resource Book” (1991) editor. Vancouver: B.C. Music Educators’ Association.

“Practical Philosophical Issues: Towards a Philosophy of Performance.” (1991) B.C. Music Educator 33(2), 42-44.

“Practical Philosophical Issues: How’s Your Fundraising Philosophy?” (1990) B.C. Music Educator 33(1), 26-31.

“A Formal Axiomatic Philosophy of Music Education” (1988) unpublished Master’s thesis. University of Victoria.

“The Role of the Music Supervisor: A Review of the Literature.” (1987) Vancouver: B.C. Music Educators’ Association.