About Us
THE PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
OF ONTARIO'S DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARDS
What is CODE?
"A Professional Association"
The Council of Ontario Directors of Education, a Professional Association,
represents all Chief Executive Officers of the seventy-two District School Boards in Ontario.
It is the common public voice of Senior School District Administrators working with Government and various Associations.
Tony Pontes
CODE Executive Director
Tony Pontes spent 39 years with the Peel District School Board as a teacher, principal, superintendent and director of education, retiring on August 31, 2017. On November 1, 2018, he was appointed as Interim Executive Director of CODE. The CODE Executive made the position permanent commencing July 1, 2019.
During his career in education, Tony built on his commitment to student success by playing a leadership role in local and provincial initiatives. In addition to his leadership within the Peel board, Tony provided leadership at the provincial level as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Public Supervisory Officials' Association (OPSOA). Tony served as president of OPSOA for 2010-11. As a director of education, Tony served on the executive of the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) and was the chair of CODE in the 2015-16.
Tony believes in the impact that directors of education have on publicly funded education and the students and families served by their local boards and is proud to serve as Interim Executive Director of CODE.
Background:
In 1991 the Council of Ontario Directors of Education was formed in response to calls to formalize the handling of emerging issues
in provincial public education, to provide a method of networking and to represent the view of senior executives to the
Ontario Ministry of Education.
The prime objective of the organization at its outset was to provide a means of communication for its members and to establish an open and positive relationship with the Minister of Education and the Deputy Minister. In order to make this happen effectively, the following program has been put in place:
- Regular monthly meetings with the Deputy Minister based on a common agenda.
- An annual conference in January.
- Position papers on significant issues
- Professional development sessions
- Liaison with affiliate organizations
Present Role:
CODE maintains a high level of activity working with various branches of the Ontario Ministry of Education as an advocate of boards and as a broker for numerous projects.
CODE operates a number of curriculum projects for the Ministry of Education and for various other organizations.
Goals:
- To advocate for progressive and effective public education
- To provide the Ontario Ministry of Education with positive and accurate advice
- To communicate effectively with all senior educators in Ontario
- To provide members with a forum to discuss current issues and put forth positions
- To liaise with other professional organizations in Canada and in other countries
Structure:
CODE is made up of six (6) Directors appointed by the Public District School Boards in Ontario, six (6) Directors appointed by the Catholic District School Boards and three (3) Directors appointed by the French language District School Boards.
The organization also has an Executive Director.
The CODE Executive acts as a regular liaison for the Directors of the seventy-two Public, Catholic and French language District School Boards in Ontario. The Deputy Minister of Education consults frequently with this group and meets with them monthly. The executive operates by consensus and focuses on general issues affecting students and the operation of school boards.
The organization does not vote on issues, but works to consensus.
Minutes of meetings are circulated to all provincial members.
CODE Executive 2021 - 2022:
| Last Name | First Name | Organization | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blais | André | CSC MonAvenir | CODELF CHAIR |
| Burton Spohn | Rose | Huron-Superior CDSB | |
| Campbell | Heather | Rainy River DSB | |
| Crawford | Deb | St. Clair CDSB | |
| Daly | Patrick | Halton CDSB | |
| Dye | Lesleigh | DSB Ontario North East | |
| Henry | Paul | CSC du Nouvel-Ontario | CODEC CHAIR |
| Hoshizaki | Warren | DSB Niagara | |
| Kelly | Erin | Greater Essex CDSB | |
| Laliberté | Yves | CSP du Nord-Est de l’Ontario | |
| Notten | Loretta | Waterloo CDSB | ECCODE CHAIR |
| Petroski | Sylvie | CSDC des Grandes Rivières | |
| Reece | Lucia | Algoma DSB | CODE CHAIR - PCODE CHAIR |
| Roehrig | Chris | Huron-Perth Catholic DSB | |
| Russell-Rawlins | Colleen | Toronto DSB | |
| Sirisko | Louise | York Region DSB | |
| Tremblay | Sylvie | CEP de l’Est de l’Ontario | CODEP CHAIR |
| Williams-Taylor | Camille | Ottawa-Carleton DSB | |
| Pontes | Tony | CODE | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CODE |
| Kostoff | John | OCSOA | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OCSOA/ECCODE |
| Costello | Jim | PCODE | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PCODE |
| Badder | Joy | OPSOA | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OPSOA |
| Philbin | Michael | AGEFO | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AGEFO |
| Deschamp | Claude | CFORP | DIRECTOR GENERAL CFORP |
| Updated September 16, 2021 |
List of Directors of Education By School Board:
| School Board | First Name | Last Name |
|---|---|---|
| Algoma DSB | Lucia | Reece |
| Algonquin & Lakeshore CDSB | David | DeSantis |
| Avon Maitland DSB | Lisa | Walsh |
| Bluewater DSB | Lori | Wilder |
| Brant Haldimand Norfolk CDSB | Michael | McDonald |
| Bruce-Grey CDSB | Gary | O'Donnell |
| CDSB of Eastern Ontario | Laurie | Corrigan |
| CEC du Centre-Est | Marc | Bertrand |
| CEP de l'Est de l'Ontario (CEPEO) | Sylvie | Tremblay |
| Conseil scolaire Viamonde | Michel | Laverdière |
| CSC du Nouvel-Ontario | Paul | Henry |
| CSP du Grand Nord de l'Ontario | Sébastien | Fontaine |
| CSP du Nord-Est de l'Ontario | Yves | Laliberté |
| CSC MonAvenir | André | Blais |
| CSDC de l'est ontarien (CSDCEO) | Eugénie | Congi |
| CSDC des Aurores Boreales | Mireille | Major-Levesque |
| CSDC des Grandes Rivieres | Sylvie | Petroski |
| CSDC Franco-Nord | Serge | Levac |
| CSC Providence | Joseph | Picard |
| DSB of Niagara | Warren | Hoshizaki |
| DSB Ontario North East | Lesleigh | Dye |
| Dufferin-Peel CDSB | Marianne | Mazzorato |
| Durham CDSB | Tracy | Barill |
| Durham DSB | Norah | Marsh |
| Grand Erie DSB | JoAnna | Roberto |
| Greater Essex County DSB | Erin | Kelly |
| Halton CDSB | Patrick | Daly |
| Halton DSB | Curtis | Ennis |
| Hamilton-Wentworth CDSB | David | Hansen |
| Hamilton-Wentworth DSB | John | Bryant |
| Hastings and Prince Edward DSB | Katherine | MacIver |
| Huron-Perth CDSB | Chris | Roehrig |
| Huron-Superior CDSB | Danny | Viotto |
| Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB | Rita | Russo |
| Keewatin-Patricia DSB | Sherri-Lynne | Pharand |
| Kenora CDSB | Paul | White |
| Lakehead DSB | Ian | MacRae |
| Lambton Kent DSB | John | Howitt |
| Limestone DSB | Krishna | Burra |
| London DCSB | Vince | Romeo |
| Near North DSB | Craig | Myles |
| Niagara CDSB | Camillo | Cipriano |
| Nipissing-Parry Sound CDSB | Paula | Mann |
| Northeastern CDSB | Tricia | Stefanic Weltz |
| Northwest CDSB | Jackie | Robinson |
| Ottawa Catholic School Board | Thomas | D'Amico |
| Ottawa-Carleton DSB | Camille | Williams-Taylor |
| Peel DSB | Rashmi | Swarup (I) |
| Peterb. Vic. North.& Clarington CDSB | Joan | Carragher |
| Rainbow DSB | Bruce | Bourget |
| Rainy River DSB | Heather | Campbell |
| Renfrew County CDSB | Marc | Searson |
| Renfrew County DSB | Pino | Buffone |
| Simcoe County DSB | John | Dance (I) |
| Simcoe Muskoka CDSB | Frances | Bagley |
| St. Clair CDSB | Scott | Johnson |
| Sudbury CDSB | Joanne | Bénard |
| Superior North CDSB | Maria | Vasanelli |
| Superior-Greenstone DSB | Nicole | Morden-Cormier |
| Thames Valley DSB | Mark | Fisher |
| Thunder Bay CDSB | Pino | Tassone |
| Toronto CDSB | Brendan | Browne |
| Toronto DSB | Colleen | Russell-Rawlins |
| Trillium Lakelands DSB | Wes | Hahn |
| Upper Canada DSB | Ron | Ferguson |
| Upper Grand DSB | Peter | Sovran |
| Waterloo CDSB | Loretta | Notten |
| Waterloo Region DSB | jeewan | chanicka |
| Wellington Catholic DSB | Michael | Glazier |
| Windsor-Essex CDSB | Emelda | Byrne |
| York CDSB | Domenic | Scuglia |
| York Region DSB | Louise | Sirisko |
| Updated March 2, 2022 |