After acting in the position since September 2016, Mark Wintjes has been appointed the new superintendent of schools, effective immediately, the Board of Education of School District No. 27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin) announced Wednesday.
Wintjes has served the district since 1993.
He was the principal of Puntzi Mountain, Bridge Lake, Forest Grove, Buffalo Creek and 100 Mile House Jr. Secondary schools and held the positions of district principal and director of instruction (Human Resources) from 2008 to 2013.
In 2013, Wintjes returned to teaching at GROW/Skyline in Williams Lake and was asked in September to take on the acting superintendent position, while the board continued its search for a permanent superintendent.
“I am honoured to be selected to lead the school district and to serve the board of education in this capacity,” Wintjes said. “Supporting students and their families, teachers, support staff and our administration to build on our successes with respect to student achievement will be a priority. “
The board also announced the appointment of Dean Coder to the position of director of instruction (Education Services), effective Aug. 1, 2017.
Coder has many years of experience in the Kamloops/Thompson School District and Nechako Lakes School District where he served as a teacher, principal and director and contributed to the leadership at the school, district, provincial and international levels.
“I am very much looking forward to working together in Williams Lake and being part of the team,” Coder said.
Board chair Tanya Guenther said the board is excited to have made these two appointments and have the district return to a more stable environment and in a position to focus on the strategic plan regarding student achievement.
