Wawa-news.com You can't hear the 'big picture'!
Algoma District School Board (ADSB) held their Inaugural Meeting on December 8th. Jennifer Sarlo was acclaimed and will continue in her role as Chair of the Board as was Brent Rankin who will continue in his position as Vice Chair.
Chair Jennifer Sarlo – This will be Jennifer’s ninth year as Chair of the ADSB. Jennifer was first elected as a Trustee for the Algoma District School Board in 2006 serving Ward One in Sault Ste. Marie. In 2009, Jennifer became Vice Chair of the Board and in December 2011, she was elected as Chair. She has served as an alternate member of the Ontario Public School Board Association’s (OPSBA’s) Policy Committee. In her years with the board, Jennifer has also taken an active role in the School Effectiveness Visits and has been on the New Schools Steering Committee. She has been a member of the Finance and Operations Committee, the Discipline Committee and the External Audit Committee.
Prior to being elected to the Algoma District School Board, Jennifer was the Chair of ADSB’s School Council Coordinating Committee (SCCC) now known as the Parent Involvement Committee (PIC). She was also the Chair of Grand View Public School’s School Council. She has always been very supportive and involved in the elementary and high schools her children attended (Grand View, Korah, and White Pines). Jennifer is also an involved and respected member of her community and her church.
Jennifer addressed the board following her acclimation: “I am honored to continue to serve the Algoma District School Board as its chair for my ninth year. Thank you, Trustee Sheryl Evans for your nomination, and thank you fellow trustees for your confidence and continued support. I look forward to working once again with Vice-Chair Trustee Rankin and I want to thank him for his support over the past year.
As I reflect on our meeting one year ago, when we naively sat around this table looking forward to all that we hoped to accomplish in the upcoming year, we had no idea what lay ahead of us. As I look back and look ahead to a new year, I really want to focus on gratitude. As tough a year as 2020 has been, we have much to be thankful for.
For one thing, the resolute, steadfastness of our team who handled (dare I say it?) the most unprecedented time, in the history of public education. A complete shut down of in-person teaching and a pivot to online, or at-home learning, for every student in our board within a matter of weeks. Every member of our staff rose to the challenge of meeting the needs of every student whether online, through phone calls, doorstep deliveries of curriculum, and healthy food boxes for our most vulnerable students. I’m so proud of what happened during that time. The summer months were spent planning, organizing, replanning and reorganizing, physical spaces, timetables and classrooms to prepare for in-class and virtual learning in an ever-changing environment. I am thankful for our staff, who in spite of many unknowns, greeted our students in September with enthusiasm and positivity allaying the fears of anxious parents and children.”
Vice-Chair Brent Rankin – Brent has represented Central Algoma as a Trustee with the Algoma District School Board from 2003 through 2010 and again from 2014 to now. He was elected last year as Vice-Chair. He has been motivated by a desire to try and make a difference in the education of all Algoma District students and to bring unique perspectives and issues from Central Algoma to the Board table.
Brent has run a small family business, including being editor of a community newspaper and co-manages an auto parts store. He has been involved in municipal politics since 1981, having been deputy-mayor for one term, and mayor for a total of five terms. He has been on a number of other boards and committees over the years, including the Algoma District Homes for the Aged Board, the Algoma Manor Development Committee, the East Algoma Community Development Corporation, the Algoma Kinniwabi Travel Association, the Thessalon Library Board, and the Sault Area Hospital Patient and Family Advisory Council.
Brent thanked Trustee Marie Murphy-Foran for her nomination. He looks forward to another year as Vice-Chair and eventually to be able to meet again in person. He sees his role as one of supporting the work of the Board and ADSB Senior Administration. Brent looks forward to continuing to support and work alongside Chair Sarlo.
OPSBA Committee Appointments – The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) requests that each board appoint a Director to the OPSBA Board of Directors and a Voting Delegate to the Annual General Meeting of OPSBA. Boards are also requested to appoint alternates for these positions. These appointments are for one-year terms.
At the Inaugural Meeting, the Board confirmed the appointment of Trustee Russell Reid as Director to OPSBA Board of Directors and Voting Delegate for the Annual General Meeting of Ontario Public School Boards’ Association for 2021.
The Board confirmed the appointment of Chair Jennifer Sarlo as the Alternate for the Director to OPSBA Board of Directors and voting Delegate to Ontario Public School Boards’ Annual General Meeting for 2021.
