Two new hires have been brought in to head the Dehcho Divisional Education Council on an interim basis until mid-July of this year.
Terry Jaffray and Jane Arychuk have been appointed as the DDEC’s interim superintendent and interim associate superintendent respectively, said Thierry Lavoie, a spokesperson for the NWT’s Department of Education, Culture and Employment.
“Both are lifelong educators in the NWT, with combined experience spanning across nearly every role in the JK-12 system as well as senior leadership in post-secondary education,” Lavoie said.
“Their appointment ensures strong, stabilizing leadership for the remainder of the school year while the recruitment and onboarding of a permanent Superintendent moves forward.”
Lavoie stated the appointments were not a consequence of the independent investigation into the DDEC and its district education authorities.
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That investigation began in June last year after the GNWT said it had heard “serious concerns from parents, educators, community members and education partners in the Dehcho.”
While education minister Caitlin Cleveland received the final report prepared by the investigator in December, the territorial government and DDEC are still working on a response to 25 recommendations made in the report.
In December, the GNWT said Arychuk – a former Aurora College president – had been brought in to help “address key issues and help stabilize the system” in the Dehcho, but provided no further detail.
