School District No. 46 (SD46) assistant superintendent of schools Greg Kitchen has left the district to take a job with the Victoria school board, and SD46 is hiring two people to fill the void.
The SD46 board has decided to restructure its management team with the departure of Kitchen. Instead of hiring a new assistant superintendent, the board has created two new director of instruction positions. One director of instruction is for student support services, while the other is for human resources and secondary programs.
Vanessa White has been hired for the student support services position. The other position has been posted, and SD46 is waiting to see who applies.
White was previously the district principal of student support, and that role will not be filled going forward.
“So it gives us one expansion to our senior team and one less on our principals, and it’s almost a wash budget-wise, so we’re real happy with that,” SD46 board chair Betty Baxter said.
She explained that White was already doing much of the work she will be tasked with in her new role, while she was a district principal.
“It was becoming clear to us that our district principal of student support was in fact doing a larger role than just the district principal,” Baxter said.
“This gives her the authority to get principal information if there’s the case of a parent complaint and also gives her the authority to advise the board directly. It makes her sit at the table.”
As director of instruction, student support services, White will be responsible for student support, safe schools, critical events, social and emotional learning, mental health and English language learning, and will act as a community liaison.
The yet-to-be-hired director of instruction, human resources and secondary programs, will be responsible for ensuring the leadership practices of SD46 support the vision of the board, district policies and the values in the SD46 strategic plan. The new director will also act as a secondary program expert, providing leadership and support for the district’s grades 8 to 12 programs.
It’s hoped that someone will be hired for the role by the end of October.
White said she was pleased with her new posting.
“I am so very excited to take on this new role. It encompasses all of the areas that I love to be involved with – social and emotional learning, mental health and support of all students and their needs,” White said, noting it was a “wonderful opportunity to serve our district.”
The only piece of Kitchen’s former role that is not being taken on by either of the new directors is the supervision of elementary school principals, which superintendent of schools Patrick Bocking will take on, Baxter said.
She noted the board is looking forward to the new setup, but that they will miss having Kitchen on the team.
“We’re very sad to see Greg go. He did very, very good work with us and we were really happy to have him here. But at the same time, when someone gets an opportunity that they think will help their career or be exciting for them, you kind of have to say ‘OK,’” Baxter said.
