PRESIDENT'S JOURNAL

CPCO Congratulates Members

The Learning Partnership annually presents Canada’s Outstanding Principals™ (COP) awards to principals from across Canada, who have made a measurable difference in the lives of their students and their own local communities. The Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario wishes to congratulate the following members who were named Canada’s Outstanding Principals for 2010: Agnes Cudmore, principal at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Blind River (Huron-Superior CDSB); Theresa Harper-Dube, principal of Loyola School of Adult and Continuing Education in Napanee (Algonquin-Lakeshore CDSB); Joanne Lombardi principal at St. James Catholic School in Seaforth (Huron-Perth CDSB); Ron Curridor principal at Monsignor J. H. O’Neil Catholic Elementary School in Tillsonburg (London CDSB). These finalists are four of the 32 principals in the country who will be recognized at the Gala Awards Dinner event on February 23rd at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto. More information on the dinner is available on the TLP website.

Canada’s Outstanding Principals™ program utilizes the expertise of the University of Toronto’s Joseph L. Rotman School of Management to provide executive leadership training and resources. CPCO’s principals will be invited to join their colleagues from the National Academy of Canada’s Outstanding Principals. Through the experience of connecting with other outstanding leaders the principals will have the opportunity to form a foundation for a national network of knowledge that can be applied to their schools, local communities and province.

Minister of Education, the Hon. Leona Dombrowsky

Last week I received a phone call from Minister Dombrowsky. She was making contact with the various partner groups in education as an early item of business in her new portfolio. I assured her that CPCO will continue to work closely with the government’s education agenda. The minister of education is scheduled to appear as a keynote speaker at CPCO’s spring conference in Windsor on Friday, April 23rd. We are awaiting confirmation from her office that Minister Dombrowsky will be able to honour this commitment.

CPCO will continue to advocate for its members especially with regards to succession planning and job security in light of Ontario’s declining enrollment and the Keller arbitration affecting principals at board offices. We will continue to monitor the roll-out of the Principal and Vice-principal Performance Appraisal and look forward to the release of the Policy Program Memorandum on Terms and Conditions of Employment for Principals and Vice-principals.

Upcoming Events

Jan. 28 - Dufferin-Peel Secondary PVP visit
Jan. 30 - Finance Committee meeting
Feb. 2 - Round Table on Technology workshop
Feb. 2 - London P/VP Association visit
Feb. 3 - Toronto Catholic Principals and Vice-Principals' Association - Business Luncheon

If you would like to comment or provide feedback on the President’s Journal, please contact Paul Lacalamita at president@cpco.on.ca.