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Belal Taha and Wendy Donaldson appointed as Superintendents of Education

November 30, 2021

The Upper Grand District School Board is pleased to announce that we have appointed two individuals from the board’s Superintendent of Education pool to fill upcoming vacancies on the UGDSB’s Executive Committee, Belal Taha and Wendy Donaldson. 

Belal TahaBelal Taha currently serves in the York Region District School Board as a Principal. Taha has also held the roles of Vice-Principal and Teacher in two large Ontario School Boards. In 2017, Taha was recognized as one of Canada’s Outstanding Principals by The Learning Partnership.  Some work that Taha has been actively involved in includes supporting board-hosted community consultations to engage and amplify voices from marginalized communities, delivering staff and parent/guardian learning around anti-racism and anti-oppression, and pioneering and instructing the first ever Math Additional Qualifications Course for administrators while supporting administrators in the development of their school improvement plans for mathematics.

Belal will assume the role of Superintendent of Education on January 1, 2022, replacing Superintendent Cheryl Van Ooteghem who is retiring in December. 

Wendy Donaldson CropWendy Donaldson currently serves as the UGDSB’s Assistant to the Superintendent of Program Services, with primary responsibilities for Special Education, Kindergarten to Grade 12. Donaldson has also held the roles of Principal, Vice-Principal and Teacher. Examples of Donaldson’s leadership include leading and facilitating staff professional learning and community collaboration in special education, leading the development and implementation of the UGDSB’s Student-Centred Instructional Tool in order to develop and align staff practice to support students who are struggling to access learning, and supporting school administration by facilitating collaborative case conferences between school and community partners, focused on supporting creative and aligned approaches to support students to return to school safely.

Wendy will begin the role of Superintendent of Education on April 1, 2022, assuming the responsibilities of Superintendent of Program Tracey Lindsay who is retiring this spring. 

We welcome Belal and Wendy to these roles, and extend our sincere thanks and congratulations to Superintendents Van Ooteghem and Lindsay on their upcoming retirements. 

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