Linda Staudt has announced her retirement as director of education for the Catholic board in the London, Ont., region.
Staudt’s retirement will be effective July 31, after serving eight years as director of the London District Catholic School Board.
She also spent ten years in classrooms, ten in school administration as a vice-principal and principal, and eight years as a superintendent with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and at the Ministry of Education in Toronto.
A release from the school board says that during her tenure as director, the board overcame a $6-million operating deficit, increased enrollment from 18,000 to 22,000 students, and opened two new schools with three more “in the works.”
“I will conclude my term as director with the knowledge and confidence that the board is very well positioned in its people, finances and culture of service and ‘patient accompaniment’ to continue the excellent innovative work in progress and further launch new and exciting initiatives,” Staudt said.
“I am very proud of the outstanding talent at all levels that we have developed within the board and also attracted from outside the board.”
Staudt adds that she looks forward to continuing existing work to put the board “in the best position possible to welcome a more ‘normal’ new school year” during her final months as director.
Chair of the board of trustees, Linda Steel, says Staudt’s “faith-filled, collaborative, and unwaveringly positive leadership style” inspired others.
“When Director Linda Staudt joined the LDCSB she was asked to be an agent of change and bring our Board to the next level,” said Steel. “These were big asks and challenges! She successfully met those challenges, despite some unexpected hurdles along the way – like a pandemic.”
“Linda’s love of our students has been evident in her every action. She is leaving this Board with a strong strategic road map to build on for years to come. LDCSB has been blessed with her humble, effective, caring Catholic leadership – and we are grateful.”
The board says a formal search process for a new director will begin “in the coming weeks in order to have a new Director in place by the summer.”
Staudt is also a retired long-distance runner. In 1981, she won the Montreal International Marathon, the Canadian Marathon in Regina, and the Tokyo International Marathon, according to the Windsor-Essex County Sports Hall of Fame, into which she was inducted in 1994.