Two new directors of education will helm Moose Jaw’s school divisions come September, after it was announced that the education director for the Catholic division had accepted a job in Regina.
The Regina Catholic School Division (RCSD) announced in early March that it had hired Sean Chase, currently the director of education for Holy Trinity Catholic School Division, to be its education director starting this July. Chase will succeed Domenic Scuglia, current RCSD education director, who plans to retire at the end of June.
Tony Baldwin, the director of education with Prairie South School Division, has also submitted his letter of resignation. His last day is July 31.
Chase is no stranger to RCSD. As a student, he attended St. Matthew School and later graduated from LeBoldus High School. He began his career as a teacher in 1993, became a principal in 2008, and then became a superintendent in 2011.
In 2018, he resigned to lead the Catholic division in Moose Jaw — his first position as director of education.
“I’m thrilled by the opportunity. It’s great for me. It’s home for me and the place where I spent the entirety of my career before my time here in Holy Trinity, so I’m really, really pleased and humbled to take them up on that offer,” he told the Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com.
“At the same time, I’m also recognizing that it’s bittersweet. My time here in Holy Trinity has been nothing short of outstanding personally and professionally for me, so it will be tough for me to say goodbye to this place because it has become a wonderful part of my life.”
Holy Trinity's board of education is now searching for a new director of education, board chair Joann Blazieko said in a news release.
“RCSD’s gain will certainly be our loss, as Sean has been a very effective, innovative and committed Catholic educational leader for our school division. The good news for us is that we will continue to benefit from Sean’s leadership until his last day with our school division, which is June 30th, 2021," she said.
"That gives us all plenty of time to congratulate Sean on his new appointment, and the much tougher job of bidding him farewell as his tenure with Holy Trinity comes to a conclusion at the close of the school year.”
Having spent most of his life involved with Regina Catholic, Chase thought there would be a “piece of the puzzling missing” if he did not apply, he explained. He sees the position as a homecoming since family members work for, or attended school with, the division.
Working for Holy Trinity has been second-to-none, especially since the organization has been a big family, he continued. That has been shown since his first day, when the board, school administrators, students, families and the three communities warmly welcomed him.
Chase developed solid relationships with the division and will miss the many people with whom he worked or interacted, he said. He also appreciated the teamwork and collaboration that occurred, notably demonstrated in the division’s response to the pandemic.
Holy Trinity has held several stakeholder engagement activities during the pandemic, he continued, with most families saying they appreciate how hard employees are working.
“It’s that shared accountability and that shared empathy that has been really the hallmark of Holy Trinity during our pandemic response, and I’m just really proud of that from an organizational standpoint,” Chase added.
While Regina Catholic has more students, schools and employees than Holy Trinity, the work in a smaller school division is just as challenging, said Chase. He has learned many things about how education works in smaller communities. Furthermore, Holy Trinity has to rely on its educational partners to provide support since the division doesn’t have all the necessary resources.
“Overall, I’ve had great new experiences here that will certainly be transferrable to my work in Regina Catholic … ,” he added.
Two memories that stick out for Chase including helping create a joint transportation plan on South Hill with Prairie South School Division (PSSD) and supporting the joint-use school project with PSSD in that same area.
Chase will miss not being officially involved with the opening of the joint-use school, he said, but pointed out that he will likely visit during construction and then attempt to attend during the grand opening.
“With that said, I think sometimes the path of leadership is to set the table for the person who comes in after you,” he added, “and I’m certain my successor and the team around here will take the foundation that we’ve created and do great things with it.”
