With the new year comes a new director of education for the Simcoe County District School Board, and she’s hoping to bring a renewed focus on student achievement and well-being to her work.
Late in November, after an extensive search, the Simcoe County District School Board announced the new director of education for the board would be Dawn Stephens.
Currently the associate director at the board, Stephens moves into the role with more than 25 years of experience locally as a former teacher, guidance counsellor, vice-principal, principal and superintendent.
“Having spent the past two years in human resources, I have a really good appreciation of how wonderful the staff are in all areas of this board,” she said in a recent interview with Village Media. “We are a board of 7,000 employees ... we should continue capitalize on the human capital we have working for us to continue to learn and grow.”
Stephens is a graduate of Midland Secondary School.
“I knew I wanted to be a teacher very early on. My grade 8 teacher – Mr. Baker at Bayview Public School – fully turned me into a teacher. I knew instantly after being in his class. That was my goal for the future. I never (deviated) from that path,” she recalled.
Stephens holds a bachelor of arts from Laurentian University, a bachelor of education from the University of Alberta and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
She’s the first person in her direct family to attend post-secondary school. She remembers an icebreaker exercise in her first year, where all students were asked to stand and then sit if they answered 'yes' to certain questions.
“When the professor asked us to sit down if your parents went to post-secondary, like 95 per cent of the students sat down. I didn’t realize it was a thing,” she said. “It was a huge moment for me to realize how big of a deal that was.
"Not everyone has those opportunities. It’s a barrier that exists.”
While she started off as an occasional teacher in 1997, she began her teaching career with the local board in 1999 and joined the guidance department at Bear Creek Secondary School in Barrie when it opened in 2001. She became the guidance department chair in 2004.
Stephens worked as a vice-principal at Banting Memorial High School in Alliston and Bear Creek Secondary School, and was a principal at Innisdale Secondary School in Barrie.
While Stephens’ extended family still lives in Midland, she moved to Barrie when she started working at Innisdale and still lives in the city.
In 2017, Stephens was hired by the board as a superintendent of education. While in this role, Stephens navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, Stephens was promoted to executive superintendent of student achievement, student success and information and technology services. In 2021, she was promoted to the role of associate director.
“I loved being a teacher and department leader. I was approached to try administration. I absolutely loved being a vice-principal, and then a principal. I look fondly back on that as the best job I had,” she said with a laugh. “It was never a goal to ever do anything other than what I was doing, so I’ve really enjoyed every job I’ve had along the way.”
The director of education oversees all operations of the board and school operations. The director is the only employee of the elected school board trustees.
“It’s about working for the board of trustees on the governance side, as well as working for all the staff and students,” she said.
To hit the ground running, Stephens points to items that will be at the top of her to-do list once she officially starts on Jan. 1: focusing on student achievement and addressing the rise in student absenteeism. Although, she said balancing changes coming to education from both the provincial and federal governments are also high on her list, as is managing the explosion of growth that’s happening across Simcoe County.
“We can’t be 10 years behind in school builds,” she said. “We do great work in student achievement, but we need to continue to grow to help our students be successful.”
She said she wants to do more long-term planning at the board to support the goal of growth management.
“I think it’s important for us to be a provincial advocate for the needs of our county. We’re growing in ways that few are across the province,” said Stephens.
Stephens takes over in the role from previous director of education John Dance, who retires as of Dec. 31.
She said she was very excited in the moment when she heard she had been selected for the role.
“I’m appreciative of the board for acknowledging what I can bring to the role,” she said. “I’m excited to continue my journey here in Simcoe County.”
