The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board is looking for a new leader.
Danny Viotto is resigning his position as director of education at the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board in order to accept another senior leadership role with an educational institution in southern Ontario.
The announcement comes just two years after Viotto took over the role as director in February 2022.
Viotto will stay on as H-SCDSB director until mid-July before starting his new duties with a private K-12 school in the Greater Toronto Area.
“It’s a great opportunity," Viotto said in a phone interview with SooToday. "It seems like an amazing school community to join and it seems like the best decision for me professionally, and for my family, at this time. It’s a new challenge definitely and an opportunity for growth."
Viotto said he made the decision to accept his new position as director of education in senior grades at the private school in the last two weeks.
He said he informed H-SCDSB trustees of his decision before Wednesday evening’s board meeting and notified the wider Huron-Superior community via email Thursday morning. The full text of his email can be found at the end of this article.
“It was with great emotions and mixed feelings that the Board regretfully accepted Danny’s resignation," said school board chair Gary Trembinski, in a news release issued this afternoon. "We wish Danny and his family all the best. We thank Danny for his 27 years of dedicated service to Catholic education and for the direction he has taken the Board over the past two years.”
The release says "trustees have reviewed the procedures for replacing a Director of Education and are proceeding now with a consultant to begin the search."
Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, the married father of two daughters has served with the H-SCDSB for 27 years. Viotto's wife, Dana, is also a teacher.
After his early days as a teacher, Viotto became vice principal of the former St. Basil Secondary School at the age of 29.
He then served as vice principal of St. Mary’s College for seven years followed by another three years as that school’s principal. He also served as Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School principal.
Viotto took a leave from the board and worked as head of De La Salle College, a private Gr. 5-12 Catholic school in Toronto from 2016 to 2018.
He returned to the H-SCDSB to serve as a superintendent of education in 2018 before becoming the board’s director of education in 2022.
Being a school board senior administrator and director has had its challenges, Viotto said.
“I would say COVID was the biggest challenge for sure but I wasn’t director, I was a superintendent at that time. I think if I had to pinpoint my biggest challenge over the last two years it was the cyber incident that happened within the first year on the job as director, but we made it through.”
The board announced on Dec. 15, 2022 that a cyberattack wreaked havoc on its computer network, warning an undisclosed number of students and recent graduates that their personal information — including dates of birth, health card numbers, photographs and citizenship status — was compromised in the ransomware attack.
The board said that hackers stole a “significant number of files” from a board server, including social insurance numbers and banking information for staff members employed between 2019 and 2022.
The board stated it would strengthen its defences against cyber attacks.
Viotto said the rewards he has experienced at the board outweigh the challenges by far.
“I think what I’ve most enjoyed is the opportunity to continue to build and shift programming so it meets the needs of our students and in the direction that the world is moving in, so I just love the programming at St. Kateri and I love that we are expanding our programming with the STEAM Lab.”
St. Kateri is an outdoor learning centre located on Goulais Avenue while STEAM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) are offered to students in various grades at the STEAM Lab located at the Holy Angels Learning Centre.
“It’s basically been listening and seeing what the students are needing and doing our best to support them as we get there. I just loved all the shifting and building the programming for our students,” Viotto said.
“I have a passion for education and working with students, educators and leaders and as director we’ve done a lot in the last two years with the admin team and the trustees. It really has been an amazing collaboration and there’s a very positive feeling in the culture of our board in the last couple of years. Everybody’s really come together to do amazing things.”
Below is the full text of Viotto's email to staff, which was sent Thursday morning.
Good morning everyone,
As always, I genuinely hope that each of you are doing well.
I wish I could share this announcement with you in person but unfortunately, it isn’t possible. Today, it is with mixed emotions that I announce my intention to resign at the end of this school year as Director of Education for the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board.
My feelings are mixed because of the great privilege it has been to serve you as Director of Education and how incredibly proud I am of the outstanding work that we have done, particularly over the past couple of years. In the spirit of transparency, an opportunity has presented itself for me to return to the private sector in a senior leadership position with a school in southern Ontario for the next school year. I will complete the school year and work a few weeks into the summer so that I can ensure for a smooth transition for the new Director once he or she is announced.
I am extremely grateful for your generous support, combined with being surrounded by such a thoughtful Board of Trustees, talented Senior team and some pretty outstanding Principals and Vice-Principals. Without a doubt, our board has never been in a better position when it comes to having a positive and healthy culture; I learned a long time ago that success comes when people feel valued, supported and celebrated. I genuinely thank you for all that you do to make HSCDSB such a special place.
In closing, I commit to being just as actively present and engaged in my role today until my final days with the board. Also, I will likely see many of you over the coming months as I do my school visits and I’m looking forward to it. Thank you.
Have a great day.
Danny