THE 2009 EDUCO PENGUIN TEAM

WHAT IS THE EDUCO PENGUIN TEAM?:

The Penguin Team is essentially a guiding team, a five-person team of passionate, creative and leadership-oriented people elected by the Educo community. Their mandate will be to help guide the organization through its new period of growth and change and ensure the heart and 'flame' of Educo stays as strong as ever through the process. They will be acting on behalf of the entire Educo community.

The team was elected via an on-line vote on Feb 9th and 10th, 2009. 80 community members (staff, students, parents and supporters) participated in the vote.

The Penguin Team members are all former staff, students or volunteers who are passionate, creative, have strong leadership skills, communications ability, analytical and critical thinking skills, and have experience working with committees.

The first meeting/conference call is being held in late-February.

WHY "PENGUIN?":

The term "Penguin" comes from the book "My Iceberg is Melting" by John Kotter, which is a fable about a penguin colony that successfully navigates through a difficult and necessary change. In the book, Kotter outlines the eight steps to successful change which will act as a loose guide to the Educo Penguin Team's efforts .

WHY CHANGE? WHAT CHANGE?:

Educo is experiencing growth in many ways: increased student numbers, full and waitlisted courses, greater demand for community programs and partnerships, more applications for employment and more general interest in what we do and how we do it. There is also a prevailing feeling amongst many Educo members and supporters that despite our success and good health as an organization, our potential to be even more successful and healthier is greater than ever before. On November 23rd, 2008, in North Vancouver the Educo Board, the management, and some other supporters met together to discuss the challenges of growth, the need to realize our potential, and to also analyze the real threats facing the organization. It was unanamously accepted at that meeting that Educo is in a period of growth and that we need to do everything we can to support Educo in this change, and help it grow meaningfully!