It is with great pleasure that the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board announces our new Mental Health Leader, Ms. Candice Kerkermeier.
Candice comes to us from FIREFLY, a key organizational partner involved in the delivery of children's mental health services. She brings extensive experience in the delivery of clinical mental health services, as well as mental health promotion activities, targeting both children and youth in our schools.
As the KPDSB enters year five of the provincial Mental Health Initiative, Candice will continue to collaborate with the School Mental Health ASSIST Team to disseminate resources for increased mental health literacy for staff and strengthen pathways to care for vulnerable students.
She will also continue to focus on implementation of the key priorities with the KPDSB Mental Health Strategy including focused efforts of system support to school staff and administrators to effectively develop and lead "Mentally Healthy Schools".
Ms. Kerkermeier stated:
"I am very excited to join the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board team. The KPDSB is an extremely dynamic and innovative Board that has done and continues to do a great deal of work in regards to mental health promotion and literacy. I plan to carry that work forward and continue to build pathways with our community partners to support the mental health of all students."
Superintendent of Education, Joan Kantola expressed enthusiasm for the new appointment:
"We are extremely excited to hire Ms. Kerkermeier for the Mental Health Leader positon. She has worked extensively in many of our schools and brings a global mental health perspective and level of expertise to our Board. Ms. Kerkermeier will continue to develop strong partnerships with FIREFLY and help to build capacity within the staff in support of students who have mental health issues and help them to be more ready for learning."
