Learn more about your Calgary Catholic School District Board of Trustees!
Welcome Back!
My name is Shannon Cook and I am honoured to have been elected as the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) board chair for the 2023 to 2024 school year. I am the trustee for wards 9, 10, Chestermere, and online learning and I have proudly served on the board since 2021. Prior to my trusteeship, I was a Calgary Catholic Education Foundation (CCEF) board member for more than eight years. I look forward to continuing to serve the Calgary Catholic community in my new role. Trustee Lory Iovinelli, who serves wards 4, 6, 7, and 8, was elected as vice chair. She has served on the board since 2017. Trustee Iovinelli is a former CCSD teacher who is passionate about Catholic education and student well-being.
On behalf of the CCSD Board of Trustees, I would like to welcome students and staff to a new school year. September will be a month filled with excitement and renewed energy as our schools welcome the smiling faces of students. Calgary Catholic staff are looking forward to continuing to make our schools and work sites positive, safe, and caring environments where all are welcome, respected, and belong. For those of you who are starting your educational journey or career with CCSD – welcome!
Advocacy
The Board of Trustees would also like to congratulate the newly elected Minister of Education, Demetrios Nicolaides, and Minister of Infrastructure, Pete Guthrie, who were both sworn in on June 9, 2023. We look forward to working with them to continue to advocate for the students and families that we serve. Recently, I, along with Vice Chair Iovinelli and Chief Superintendent Dr. Bryan Szumlas, had the opportunity to meet with Minister Nicolaides, who is also MLA for Calgary-Bow. At this meeting, we provided background on CCSD, highlighting the strength of our students’ results, as well as the rapid growth in enrollment that has occurred this past school year and the pressures that come with that rapid growth. Other topics discussed include unsustainable utilization rates in our schools, the lack of funding for education in Alberta, transportation, student wellness, and the inequity created by the weighted average formula which is used to determine funding for education.
One of our principal functions as trustees is to advocate on behalf of CCSD to the MLAs that have Calgary Catholic schools in their riding. This includes MLAs from Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, and Cochrane. Trustees meet regularly with provincial MLAs to let them know the great things that Calgary Catholic is doing and to advocate for the resources and facilities that we need for continued student success. With the recent provincial election, our trustees will be spending the next few months updating re-elected MLAs on what’s happening in our district and introducing ourselves and CCSD to newly elected MLAs.
Wishing all students and staff a safe, memorable, and productive school year!
Shannon Cook, Chair, CCSD Board of Trustees
