The Yorkton Tribal Council has a new director of education.
Last week, Ross Brown took over the position vacated after a long tenure by former director Don Pinay.
"I've known Don off and on over the years, and knew what a good job he'd done with Yorkton Tribal Council," says Brown, "so it was a chance to come into a real going concern."
The directorship is a retirement job - if not a traditionally laid-back one - for Brown, who wrapped up a 36-year career as an administrator in the Regina Public School system this June. Most recently, he had been deputy director of education in that district.
"I'm really looking forward to this," he says. "I wasn't interested in being retired in the traditional sense of sitting around and relaxing. I'm using this as an opportunity to gain some new experiences."
Brown is spending his first few weeks touring the eight First Nations schools under his supervision and meeting with staff and board members.
His time in the district has been brief, but he is already praising the progressive attitudes of the education department's leadership.
"I'm really pleased with the people that I'll be working with. ... Everyone is very welcoming. I can't say enough about how people have been willing to help me understand the differences between education in the Yorkton Tribal Council and what I was used to in a much more urban environment."
The Yorkton Tribal Council represents the Cote, Keeseekoose, Key, Ocean Man, Sakimay, and Kahkewistahaw First Nations.
