YORK CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
YCDSB appoints Mary Battista as new Interim Director, effective September 1, 2020

The York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) appoints Mary Battista as Interim Director of Education and Secretary of the Board for the York Catholic District School Board, taking over for Ab Falconi who is retiring on August 31, 2020.

Ms. Battista will be Director Designate starting August 1, 2020, and will take on the Interim Director role effective September 1, 2020.

As Interim Director, Ms. Battista will assume all regulatory responsibilities of Director of Education and Secretary of the Board, in keeping with the Ontario Education Act and related Regulations, until the search for a permanent Director is completed.

"On behalf of the YCDSB, I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Ms. Battista on this well-deserved appointment. She has done an excellent job in her role as Superintendent of Curriculum and Assessment in leading the YCDSB's distance learning plans. As we welcome families back to school this fall during this challenging and unprecedented time, Ms. Battista will continue to provide exceptional leadership and continuity. We are confident that with her leadership, the YCDSB will experience another successful school year," said Maria Marchese, Chair of the Board of Trustees.

"I would like to congratulate Ms. Battista on her appointment. Ms. Battista has been with the Board for more than 30 years and I have every confidence that YCDSB will be in good hands with her as Director Designate and as Interim Director when she assumes the role in September," said Ab Falconi, Director of Education.

Ms. Battista is an experienced educator, who brings with her a wide range of skills through her various leadership roles in the Board. Ms. Battista started her career at the YCDSB in 1982 as a French as a second language teacher. She subsequently assumed roles of junior, intermediate teacher, special education teacher and teacher librarian, before becoming a vice principal and principal.

Ms. Battista has held a number of Superintendent positions at the YCDSB over the past decade, responsible for Curriculum and Assessment, Safe Schools, and School Leadership, respectively. Ms. Battista is committed to change management, organizational relationships and strong leadership. She has a dedicated commitment to raising awareness of and eliminating all forms of racism and discrimination, and in so doing, will create a supportive welcoming learning and teaching environment for all stakeholders in our Board.

Along with her educational qualifications, Ms. Battista has held leadership roles on numerous staff committees. Ms. Battista believes that Catholic educational leadership is best achieved when working collaboratively with all partners, and has faithfully strived throughout her career to build strong, dynamic, relationship-based, Catholic learning communities.

"I am honoured and excited to continue to serve the YCDSB in this new role as Interim Director, and look forward to assuming my position on September 1st. Over the course of my career with the YCDSB, I have embraced opportunities to work collaboratively with all our partners, and I remain committed to ensuring that all members of our school system are empowered to work together to achieve excellence and equity in the education of our students," said Mary Battista, Director Designate.

With this wide and varied background, and her strong Catholic faith, Ms. Battista brings a wealth of relevant experience to the role of Interim Director. She will provide strong leadership and the required continuity to support the needs of our Board while the search for a permanent Director takes place.