From left: Vice Chair Patricia Main, Director Elect Jennifer Williamson and Board Chair Barb Seymour. (Submitted/Kaitlin Harman)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

New Director of Ed

Jennifer Williamson named director of education for NWSD

Apr 29, 2025 | 2:03 PM

The Northwest School Division No. 203 is heading in a new direction this September.

Jennifer Williamson will effectively take over from Duane Hauk on Aug., 1 and the transition has begun.

Williamson, freshly sworn in last week, said her first order of business is to connect with all the communities within the division from Pierceland to Edam to Neilburg.

“They all have different needs, they all have different wants and so, really getting to know what our communities want and expect for education,” she said.

Williamson has worked in education for over 25 years and spent the last 13 as deputy and there is no plan to reinvent the wheel.

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“What I’m hoping to do is continue to build on the things that we’re already doing well and then also to continue to move our division in a forward direction,” she said.

“So, it’s not necessarily changing everything, it’s building on the things that we already do great.”

Over her time with the school board, she said the senior administration team is mentored and given opportunities to develop their leadership skills and tap into their passion areas. Williamson wants to focus on specific passions of hers.

“I worked with community partners, and we established and implemented the violent threat risk assessment protocol,” she said of the community initiative to share relevant and timely information to keep the schools and residents safe.

Meanwhile, the division will work to align their goals with the Provincial Education Plan 2030, which focuses on four pillars that prioritize Learning and Assessment, Indigenous Education, Mental Health and Well-Being and Student Transitions.

“Success looks different for every student, right? so I think we really do take an individualized approach to what each and every student needs and then we try to provide appropriate programming,” Williamson said.

As the transition moved ahead, she said they are getting plans in place for the upcoming school year.

“This is always an interesting time.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: juleslovett.bsky.social