Dr Renee Closs, superintendent of the Sahtu Divisional Education Council (SDEC), has been honoured with the NWT Superintendents’ Associatin’s 2019 Distinguished Service Award.
She’ll also receive a national award for her leadership from the Canadian Association of School System Administrators (Cassa) this summer – and she’s in the running for Superintendent of the Year, presented by the same organization.
The distinguished service award, presented by territorial colleagues, honours her contributions to public education each year as a superintendent.
“Renee is an impressive yet soft-spoken educational leader who leads by example, with sensibility, self-discipline, and courtesy,” said Dr Curtis Brown, superintendent of the South Slave Divisional Education Council.
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“She has particular expertise and has provided territorial leadership in all three core components of teaching and learning: curriculum, instruction, and assessment.”
Closs has spent more than two decades as a teacher, principal, regional inclusive schooling coordinator, assistant superintendent, and most recently superintendent of schools in the Sahtu.
During her 14 years with the SDEC in Norman Wells, she sat on various committees for teacher qualification services; curriculum implementation; student assessment, evaluation, and reporting; and high school pathways to graduation.
In July, Closs will receive the Xerox Canada EXL Award from Cassa for her leadership in school administration.
It will be the second year in a row an NWT educator has received the EXL national award, The winner in 2019 was Shannon Barnett-Aikman, the former Tłı̨chǫ education director.
Barnett-Aikman was also named Canada’s superintendent of the year by Cassa last year and given the distinguished service award by the territorial superintendents’ association.
