Letter from our new Director

Monday, January 15, 2018

Dear Families,

I am honoured and privileged to be joining York Region District School Board and to focus on what is best for students. I have held many positions in my career in a large district school board including teacher, Principal and Superintendent roles, and more recently as Director of Special Education at the Ministry of Education. I look forward to supporting our students and their families and our staff members with my knowledge, skills and passion for student well-being.

As we begin the New Year, I want to express my gratitude for the dedication of our staff and families to our schools and students. Schools play such an important role in the lives of our students – whether that is ensuring they have a safe pathway in the yard, supporting their personal needs, teaching them, keeping track of attendance, leading their school, or ensuring we are actively engaged in their learning.

Being new to the Board, my priority will be to listen and learn from as many students, staff, families, community members and trustees as possible. I will be focused on students and staff in schools so that I may see the wonderful things happening in our classrooms every day and to listen to their ideas. I also hope to be able to hear from the community directly. We have community consultations scheduled on Classism and Anti-Black Racism and I am looking forward to hearing our community’s thoughts on how we can best support students and families.

Our work on supporting the Minister’s directions will also be central to my leadership. The work of Interim Director Kathryn Wallace has enabled the board to plan and implement many elements of the directions. I thank her for her leadership and am dedicated to continuing her fine work. Our next steps will be implementing the Equity Plan and refreshing the Strategic Plan for the board as a whole. The Minister’s directions improve our work in supporting students, their families and our school communities – it is important their intent is embedded in our everyday activities and used as a building block toward the strategic plan we build together.

The most important goal I have in my first months as Director is to build relationships and to earn trust. I am looking forward to working alongside you to keep an unwavering focus on our students and achieve outstanding results to inspire learning.

Warm regards,

Louise Sirisko, Director of Education

York Region District School Board