Longtime Seven Oaks superintendent leaves for provincial job

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This article was published 20/10/2023 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Seven Oaks School Division is undergoing another reshuffling, after its long-time leader announced he was taking a promotion as Manitoba’s deputy minister of education.

Over the last two months, three senior administrators on the six-person team (superintendent, assistant superintendents of curriculum, human resources, and student services, secretary-treasurer, and assistant secretary-treasurer) have submitted resignation letters.

“It wasn’t going to last forever,” states the subject line of a mass email superintendent Brian O’Leary sent to staff members across the Winnipeg-based school division Thursday.

O’Leary informed employees he had been tapped to join newly-appointed Education Minister Nello Altomare, a retired teacher who was formerly the NDP’s education critic, to run the provincial ministry of K-12 programming.

“I am incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished as a division, but I know that there isn’t a single accomplishment that is mine alone,” he wrote, adding Seven Oaks has a “strong and deeply entrenched culture” and at its core is a desire to make a difference in student lives.

The career educator, who has worked in various teaching and administrative roles over 40 years, has been at the helm of the division since 2001-02.

At the end of the summer, Matt Henderson, assistant superintendent of curriculum, left the board office to become new chief executive officer of the Winnipeg School Division. His executive assistant also moved with him.

Shelley Warkentin, who replaced Henderson, also recently announced she is joining them at WSD in a new senior position being created as part of a major restructuring of Manitoba’s largest district.

Turnover often raises alarms about workplace culture and a loss of institutional knowledge, but remaining staffers are defending the exodus as a testament to Seven Oaks’ progressive reputation and others wanting to poach leaders who helped build it.

“They’re not leaving because of Seven Oaks. They’re leaving because of the work they’ve done here,” said Jeff Cieszecki, president of the local teachers association.

Seven Oaks was the first city division to host a Grade 12 graduation powwow and launch an Ojibwa bilingual program. Under O’Leary’s leadership, the division established Manitoba’s only alternative “Big Picture Learning” Met Schools, among other first-of-their-kind programs.

Tony Kreml, assistant superintendent of human resources, called the trend “a matter of acknowledgement” of Seven Oaks’ holistic culture and emphasis on removing barriers to student success.

“(O’Leary’s) got a slogan: every student, every opportunity, every day — and that certainly lives in our division,” Kreml said.

“While Brian was a driving force and other people were part of that, given that we have a vision of distributed leadership here, other people will move in and be able to maintain our culture and certainly, expand and grow on it.”

The board of trustees will appoint an interim superintendent at their board meeting Monday night, and launch a search for a permanent leader afterwards. No disruptions to programming are anticipated during the transition period.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca