Wellington Catholic District School Board’s own Michael MacPherson has began serving as Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario (CPCO) President as of July 2023.
Elected to serve for the 2023-2024 school year, MacPherson has been a valued member of the executive of CPCO for the past six years.
“I have always been interested in mentoring and supporting principals both locally and provincially. It is a privilege to serve as a principal and be part of a community. The role has changed so much over the years and it is important for principals to support each other both locally and across the province. We have over 2000 Catholic Principals who belong to CPCO; so the opportunity to serve provincially was something that I was encouraged to be part of it. My family has always supported me in my 20+ years as an administrator, so they encouraged me to move forward. I am grateful to be part of the larger CPCO team and executive who support principals and vice principals across the province,” shared MacPherson.
MacPherson will serve as president of CPCO for one year. During this time, he will represent the will of membership and is responsible to Executive Council, serve as an ambassador for the promotion of CPCO programs, supports and services and work in collaboration to provide service, leadership and advocacy on behalf of all CPCO members.
“A huge part of the role is also working with our principal colleagues at Ontario Principal Council and ADFO. Collectively there are over 8600 principals in the province of Ontario. Together, the presidents of each work to serve, advocate and lead,” he explained.
MacPherson started his career with Dufferin Peel Catholic as a Special education resource teacher in 1993 and moved to Administration in 2001. Mike joined Wellington Catholic DSB in February of 2008, where he served as vice-principal and principal at Our Lady of Lourdes CHS and St. James CHS, before moving to virtual learning in most recent years. He is grateful for the support from Wellington Catholic.
“Mike has been involved in a number of initiatives in our schools and at the board level. He has been involved in the development of our International Education Program, the development of our Virtual School as well as increased offerings of tutoring programs in our elementary and secondary schools. He was involved in the creating our year-end Give Back Day for secondary school graduating students which has become something of a tradition in Wellington Catholic DSB,” shared Director of Education, Michael Glazier.
In 2019, he received the CPCO Principal of the Year award as nominated by his peers.
“Mike, or Mac as he is affectionately known, has been a champion of student success throughout his career. As a principal of secondary schools and more recently as our elementary Virtual School principal, Mac has done an excellent job of connecting with students and their families and finding ways to help students succeed and graduate. He is a strong, relationships-focused leader who works to build community within his school,” Glazier continued. “It is wonderful to see that Mac was elected by his peers across the province to take on this position. We know he will provide perspective and advocacy for the needs of our schools in his provincial role. We wish Mac all the best as he takes on this important responsibility.”