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Sask Rivers Director-Designate announced

Mar 3, 2011 | 5:16 AM

The new director-designate for the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division was introduced to a room of colleagues, Wednesday.

Robert Bratvold will take over the post from Bill Cooke who is set to retire after 13 years with the school division.

Wayne Steen, school division chair, said they started looking for the new director-designate in November.

“Dr. Cooke has provided our school division with strong leadership, guided by the principals of integrity, fairness, equity … not surprising, the same qualities that had guided us for the last 13 years were seen as very important in the upcoming selection process,” Steen said.

He added that Bratvold would bring these qualities and more to his new position.

“I see my role as director is to build good relationships with the board and the trustees first as the governance team for the school division but then crucial to be able to work together with the senior leaders and then as well with the principals, the teachers and the staff within the school,” Bratvold said.

Bratvold comes to Prince Albert from the Creighton School division where he had several roles, director of education, school administrator and a teacher.

He said he really see education as a relationship-based business.

“The crucial thing I see in terms of relationships is with the parents and families as well as the wider community so that what goes on in the home of a child is echoing and supporting what goes on in the school and vice versa.”

When considering the new position, Bratvold said Prince Albert’s community appealed to him as a great place to spend time with his family.

“That something we’ve looked forward to here. There is lots of opportunity for the kids in terms of the city, the facility and the programs but also the community too,” he said.

sfroese@panow.com