May 7th, 2013

Dear School Council Chair and Council Members:

As you know, we are embarking on a search for a new Director of Education, a successor to Linda Fabi, who has served the Board exceptionally well during her time in the role.  We will be working at this critical task over the next few weeks and we plan to announce the new Director of Education by the end of this school year.  The Trustees are requesting input from the WRDSB community on the opportunities and challenges that will face the new Director, and on the experience, qualities and personal attributes that will be required for success in the role.

Director of Education Search – Letter to School Councils.docx

Our mandate is to search for the very best candidates for our Director of Education, and to bring forward a recommendation to the Board of Trustees as soon as possible.  We have retained the services of an executive search firm, Odgers Berndtson, with extensive experience in the education sector, to assist us in our work.

As we get our work underway, it is very important that we receive input and perspective from members of our WRDSB parent community.  Specifically, we are very interested in your views on the following:

 

  1. What are the main issues and challenges facing our District School Board and what are your greatest aspirations for Waterloo Region District School Board over the next five to ten years?

 

  1. What advice do you have regarding the background, experience, credentials, leadership style and personal attributes that will be most critical for us to seek in our next Director of Education?

Your input will be enormously helpful in crafting a candidate brief, and in informing the direction of the search, and I thank you in advance for your participation.  You can provide your comments directly to our consultants using this confidential email address: feedbackwrdsb@odgersberndtson.ca. We would appreciate hearing from you by May 17, 2013.  The advertisement for our Director of Education will be appearing in a variety of venues tailored to public school board leadership in mid-May.

 

Thank you again for your participation in this important part of the process, and for your support as our work unfolds.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ted Martin

 

Chairperson

Waterloo Region District School Board