Canada’s best superintendent lives and works right here in St. Albert.
Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools superintendent David Keohane was named the 2018 Canadian Superintendent of the Year at the annual Canadian Association of School System Administrators conference in Ottawa Wednesday.
A St. Albert resident, Keohane is the fifth Albertan since 2002 to receive this recognition.
Keohane was named Alberta’s top superintendent by College of Alberta School Superintendents last March and put forth as the province’s nominee for this national award, said Barry Litun, executive director of the college. A panel of judges weighed him against four other candidates from Ontario, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories, and determined him to be the best.
Keohane has been GSACRD’s superintendent since 2009 and has been lauded for his efforts to improve employee engagement and to reduce stigmas around mental health and bullying. His leadership has earned the district two consecutive Gallup Great Workplace Awards, which recognizes firms that create an engaged workplace culture.
GSACRD vice-chair René Tremblay said the board was excited by this award and definitely planned to renew Keohane’s contract when it came due next year.
“His leadership is outstanding, and David is truly a model and witness to our vision in all he does.”
Reached in Ottawa, Keohane said he was honoured to receive this award, adding that he would not have achieved it without the help of the district’s talented teachers and principals and the board’s commitment to community engagement.
“School systems are social paradigms to begin with, and if we try to embrace getting tasks done at the expense of maintaining a positive, consultative culture, we’re not going to get where we need to get to.”
There’s no silver bullet for a successful school system, he emphasized. Making a difference means tapping your students and staff to understand local conditions and adapting the best ideas out there to improve those conditions.
“It’s about collaborating well and working with people well.”
Looking ahead, Keohane said the district would have to manage the opening of the new Sister Alphonse Academy this September and the construction of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Morinville, as well as upcoming changes to the curriculum. He was also working on an improved parent consultation and education process and a new in-school chaplain program.
Keohane said he received a roughly five-pound 16-inch tall glass trophy for his award and was at a bit of a loss as to how to ship it back home. He will also represent Canada at the American Superintendents Association conference in Los Angeles next February.
