After 25 years as a teacher, École Holy Cross principal Wade Mourot is excited to break new ground.
On Wednesday, the Prince Albert Catholic School Division named Mourot their new Superintendent of Education, effective August 2022. Mourot said he’s happy and excited for the chance to work in a senior administrative role.
“I’m honoured and really I am kind of blessed that I have been given this opportunity to serve in this new capacity,” he explained. “It is just something that, I guess, is a natural progression. It wasn’t something that I targeted for right at the very beginning of my career or anything. It feels like a good fit and I’m looking forward to it.”
Mourot has seen a lot of change in his 25 years, but his longstanding commitment to Catholic education remains unchanged.
Most of his career has been spent as a principal, and he said that leadership experience would help him in his new role.
“I have just seen a lot of change, (and) I have been involved in a lot of professional development,” he said.
“It just came to a point where change is good, and I want to kind of lean into this, give a shot and see what I can share to help support the division at a larger level than just school.”
He completed a Masters of Education in Educational Administration at the University of Saskatchewan and a Baccalauréat en éducation at the University of Regina. His portfolio will be Superintendent of Education in curriculum and instruction, which involves planning and delivering professional development opportunities for staff, and overseeing programs and locally developed courses that could be offered.
While he’s eager to take a new role, he’s happy one thing hasn’t changed—the community he’s working in.
“Prince Albert is my community without a doubt,” he said.
In their press release, the division credited Mourot for demonstrating strong curricular leadership throughout his career, while also participating in committee and leadership opportunities.
He said curriculum has always an area he’s passionate about.
“That is just an area that has always interested me, curriculum and just good teaching practices, so that we can have students really learning what they need to learn,” he explained. “There is so much information out there that you have to pare it down, you have to make every second count.”
With all of the changes related to the pandemic, the school division’s curriculum has seen changes.
“We have seen so much change there and it’s also supporting that change as we incorporate our new platform which is Edsby,” he explained. “It’s not quite so new now since the pandemic, so to speak. We are still embracing that and saying, ‘how does this really fit in this really new era that we are stepping into.’”
The school division also noted that brings a wealth of experience in French Immersion and English curricula programming. Mourot said he hopes to continue supporting a strong French Immersion program in his new role.
“We have a strong percentage of French Immersion in our school division, and so it takes a lot of effort and there is a lot of resources that need to go with that too,” he said. “Just being able to move in that language will make it easier to evaluate and to give strong direction.”
Although he’s looking forward to the change, Mourot said he’ll miss being involved at the high school level.
“It really is the second home,” he explained. “It’s a family. We always say and it will still be family it will just be a little different.
“It’s the interactions every day with the students too, hearing the different seasons of the year, whether it is time that they are preparing for concerts or whatever that might be. Soon I won’t be on site to go through all of that, but that’s okay.”
Mourot has been committed to Sacred Heart Parish and is married to Charlotte. They are the parents of two daughters and two sons.
In a release from the division, board of education chair Suzanne Stubbs welcomed Mourot to his new role.
“We proudly welcome Wade Mourot to his new position,” she said. “Wade’s professional education and experience will benefit our students and staff as we strive to focus on student learning and achievement.
“We look forward to his continued contributions, and we are thrilled to have Wade join our Catholic education leadership team in this capacity.”
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
