PRINCE ALBERT — After eight and a half years as a Superintendent with the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division Tom Michaud will begin a new challenge in 2025.
Michaud will be moving on to assume the role of director of education secretary-treasurer in the Conseil Scolaire Catholique du Nouvel-Ontario.
The board is the school district administrator for French Language Catholic Schools in greater Sudbury and the districts of Sudbury, Manitoulin and Algoma.
“I wasn't out looking for anything in particular, but I was made aware of this opportunity,” Michaud said. “As I got to know a little bit more about what exactly it was and then understanding that this happens to be the school division whose schools I attended when I was a kid in Ontario from Kindergarten to Grade 6, I just decided ‘let's pursue this and see where it goes.’”
Michaud spent more than 25 years in Prince Albert, including eight-and-a-half with Saskatchewan Rivers. He said his time with the school division has been very beneficial.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my tenure here at Sask Rivers,” he said. “It's a fantastic organization to be a part of.
Michaud said his wife is going to complete the school year and then retire from teaching.
"We're going to figure out what we're going to do as a family unit,” Michaud said. “We have a son in Quebec City. We have another one here in PA. This just allows us to be a little more flexible and going in either direction and never losing sight of PA, we're not selling our family home or anything like that. We still want to keep an anchor here in Prince Albert.”
In his new role as director of education secretary-treasurer, Michaud will perform many of the same duties as an education director.
"The secretary-treasurer is just a recognition, if you want, of the ultimate responsibility that the individual has for the overall operations of the division,” Michaud said.
Michaud said the change is an opportunity to be engaged in a new level of responsibility and he looks forward to that.
"It's also an opportunity to reconnect with my roots as a French-Canadian Francophone,” he said. “I grew up in the Catholic system as a student. I have one year teaching in the Catholic system in Regina, so going to a French Catholic system in Ontario that has ties to my hometown is kind of cool.”
Throughout his tenure, Michaud played a pivotal role in numerous areas of SRPSD operations, contributing significantly to our students’ success and well-being.
Notably, he worked leading the Inclusive Learning Team, supporting specialized services such as Inclusive Education Consultants and Coaches, Speech Language Pathologists, Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, and Social Workers. He also led the division crisis response ensuring students and staff are supported in the instance of a traumatic event.
Michaud said that it was not about the initiatives he led but the team environment that was fostered in Sask Rivers.
"(It’s) that collaborative model that we've got here as a division in trying to support our staff and our students and our school communities as well too,” he said. “I work with a fantastic group of consultants and coaches in the intensive supports world.
“All the work that we have done around equity, diversity and inclusion has been phenomenal and that has become a reference point for others in the province as well too, and that's all because of that team model that we have in place and that collaboration that goes on here.”
Michaud said that he was privileged to be part of that team and working with them was one of his highlights from his time in Prince Albert.
Michaud also championed Gender and Sexual Diversity, French Immersion, and English as an Additional Language programs, and led wellness initiatives like the SRPSD Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) framework and the Saskatchewan Health Authority MHCB pilot project at Prince Albert Collegiate Institute.
His first official day in his new position is Jan. 6, 2025, and he will continue in his current role until Dec. 20.
Michaud was proud of all of the work he and his team have done in the division.
"I’m very proud to have been given the opportunity and the privilege to be part of such a fantastic group here at Sask Rivers,” he said. “I carry that with me as I go into my role. I have a lot of appreciation and gratitude for the growth that I have seen over the years in myself and that we have seen for the system as a whole and the impact that that has had on our students here at Sask Rivers. That's what matters most. None of what we have done would have an ounce of credibility if it didn't have impacts on students.”
In a release, the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division extended their heartfelt thanks to Michaud for over 8 years of service and wished him continued success in this next phase of his professional journey.
