Huron-Superior school board director Burton Spohn to retire in spring

Rose Burton Spohn, Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (H-SCDSB) director of education, will retire in the spring of 2022.

Sandra Turco, H-SCDSB chair, read a letter announcing Burton Spohn’s retirement to administrators and trustees at Wednesday’s board meeting. 

Burton Spohn has been the Huron-Superior board’s director of education since July 1, 2017.

She has served as director during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping steer students, families, teachers and staff through the transition to online learning and overseeing a safe return to classrooms while observing COVID-19 guidelines.  

“It has been both an honour and a privilege to have served the board for the past eight years,” said Burton Spohn in her retirement letter. 

Burton Spohn officially began her teaching career in 1991 with the London District Catholic School Board, serving as a high school english, french, and guidance teacher at secondary schools in London and Woodstock. 

Beginning in 2005, Burton Spohn moved to the Ministry of Education, where she served for eight years as an education officer in the eLearning Ontario unit. 

There, she assisted with the launch and implementation of the province’s e-learning strategy, overseeing the work of the province’s 60 english-language e-learning contacts before moving to Northern Ontario.

In 2013, the H-SCDSB hired Burton Spohn as a superintendent of education responsible for secondary programming, e-learning, alternative learning, and the supervision of the west-end family of schools. 

She was named director of education in 2017.

“I am so thankful for the confidence that the board, the senior team, and the system have demonstrated in me over the past eight years,” said Burton Spohn. 

“I cannot say enough about the caring, dedicated, and talented support system that has surrounded me throughout my time in leadership at the board.”

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Huron Superior Catholic District School Board, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rose for her exemplary years of service to our Board,” said Sandra Turco, H-SCDSB chair at Wednesday’s meeting.

“We have had the privilege of working closely with Rose over the past four years in her role as our Director of Catholic Education and we will miss her strong leadership skills, compassion and dedication to Catholic education and our board,” Turco said.

Burton Spohn’s retirement is effective March 31, 2022.