Retirement of the first Black female Director in the history of the Toronto District School Board

BY PAUL JUNOR

The announcement of the retirement of the first Black female Director in the history of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) effective November 2024 was a surprise to many in the educational community. It was in August 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that Colleen Russell-Rawlins was appointed as Director of the largest school board in Canada. Since then, she has managed the TDSB through many challenges, issues, concerns, crisis and financial setbacks. The news of her impending retirement was made on Tuesday, May 31^st, 2024, at a specially arranged meeting of the Trustees of the TDSB. Details were publicly disclosed in a news release issued on the board’s website.

The press states, “She is an accomplished educator with a career that spans more than three decades and includes senior leadership positions with the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Peel District School Board and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) – two of Canada’s largest school boards.” The press release highlights some of Colleen’s accomplishments during her time at the TDSB which includes:

• Overseeing the expansion of access to French Immersion
• Improved access to childcare, early years, and literacy supports
• Implemented the Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement
• Launched the modernization plan for the board’s People and Culture Department
• Narrowed disproportionate outcomes for many underserved students
• Led the team in creating the TDSB’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan which centers: student belonging, achievement, and revitalizing schools, workplaces, and processes so every student can thrive

Rachel Chernos, Chair of the TDSB describes in detail Colleen’s role. She writes, “Colleen accepted the role of TDSB’s Director of Education when COVID-19 was still a very real element of our daily lives and helped lead the school board through the very challenging time following the height of the pandemic.”

“Among other things, she has supported early years, professional learning in math and literacy, leadership development, the growth of the Centre of Excellence for Black Students and a modernization initiative that will create transformative change in a number of different areas of our organization. Most recently, Colleen’s leadership was instrumental in the formation of our recently released Multi-Year Strategic Plan. From her earliest days as an elementary teacher, to her achievements at the highest school board in Canada, Colleen has made tremendous change for students, staff, families and communities across our city and beyond. I am truly thankful for her steady, caring and principled leadership-not just as Director of Education, but as a leader in our system for so many years.”

Director Russell-Rawlin is appreciative of her time at TDSB. She writes, “It has been truly a privilege of a lifetime to serve our vibrant and dynamic communities and to witness the remarkable brilliance, achievements and impact of students, staff and education. I am filled with gratitude for the: support, collaboration and dedication that I have benefitted from and witnessed daily through each season of my career up to and including the Director of Education. My commitment to service remains unwavering. I look forward to continuing to contribute through new avenues, to a better world which includes all of us.

There have been many responses and reactions to the impending retirement of Director Russell-Rawlins. In an article by Isabel Teotonia and Kristin Rushowy in the Tuesday, May 28^th, 2024, publication of the Toronto Star, several aspects of her tenure are highlighted. The article states, “During her sometimes-controversial tenure, the board navigated pandemic-related restrictions, addressed growing violence amongst students, oversaw a new heavily criticized admissions process for specialized programs that the board was renowned for offering in the arts, athletics and sciences, and also grappled with the suicide of a former principal who said he had been harassed and bullied during anti-racism training.”