On June 17, la Commission scolaire des Hauts-Bois de l’Outaouais (CSHBO) made a significant change to its governing body after officially appointing Denis Rossignol as its newest Director General.

Following a brief transitioning period, Rossignol’s tenure as the CSHBO’s newest Director General began on July 2.

Replacing the long-tenured Fernand Paré, Rossignol felt humbled knowing he has big shoes to fill. Nonetheless, he’s excited for the challenges that lie ahead.

“Mr. Paré did a great job of organization, monitoring, preparation and restructuring our schoolboard,” he said. “He did an amazing job. He was a very dynamic person who always followed his principles.”

A couple of weeks ago, upon hearing from the schoolboard’s president Diane Nault that he had been selected for the position during a special meeting, Rossignol felt a mixture of emotions.

“It was a share of mixed sentiments because I really enjoyed the work I was doing as principal. I loved it. I was good there but at the same time there were other challenges to take care of.”

After applying for the position in May, Rossignol was hopeful to be selected but by no means was he certain about landing it.

Delighted with the promotion, Rossignol called it a great honour. However, he remained aware that a lot of big tasks stood ahead of him.

“It’s a reaction of happiness but at the same time a little bit weird because you apply and you still want the job but you don’t necessarily think you’re the one who’s going to land it. You’re not always the one that ends up being picked,”

Despite having served as principal of Poupore Elementary school in Fort Coulonge for over a decade, including another 20-plus years as an educator, Rossignol knows the transition isn’t going to be easy.

“Evolution and change are part of life, but this is going to be a big challenge for me,”

Considering the countless relationships, he had established with people at the school over the years, he’ll certainly reminisce on his tenure as Poupore Elementary’s principal with fond sentiments.

“I’ll miss everything,” he said. “The contact with the kids, the relationship with parents, the relationships with the staff. It’s a great staff they have there. I’ll miss everything. Although, I’ll try to bring my smile back to the school as regularly as possible.”

While his duties will change quite significantly, Rossignol is confident that his decade plus of experience as principal will greatly benefit him going forward.

His duties as Principal mostly consisted of supervising teachers. Now he’ll cover a much broader scope of responsibility as he will spend the bulk of his time communicating with principals and working with other board members.

Among the most important initiatives to tackle in his new position, Rossignol believes his biggest challenge will be stabilizing personnel in schools across the board. With plenty of competition to recruit qualified teachers in schools all over the country, fostering a desirable work environment for teachers is vital to the schoolboard’s success, especially in rural areas.

“It’s the biggest aspect that we’ll be working on,” he said. “Following and accepting changes in the schoolboard’s governing body and in terms of recruiting, keeping and training our teachers in the structure we have in place.”

“We have a big challenge as far as personnel, just like just about everyone in Quebec and Canada,” he added. “We have a shortage in personnel. As far as teachers and supporting staff, assuring relief, training and assistance etc.”

Bombarded with countless words of thanks and congratulations in the past two weeks, Rossignol feels very grateful for the constant support locals have given him during his tenure as principal.

“I certainly thank the people of the Pontiac and the Upper-Gatineau region,” he said. “But more importantly the Pontiac resident because I’ve received enormous amounts of words of congratulations, of positive encouragement. It’s been extremely appreciated.”

Since his new office stationed in Maniwaki, that’s where he’ll be spending the bulk of his time going forward.

However, he looks forward to visiting family and friends in Mansfield whenever the opportunity presents itself.

“Unless I’m stuck in meetings or have some work to do elsewhere, I’ll return home for weekends,” he said.

cutline: La Commission Scholaire des Haut-Bois de l’Outaouais has officially named Denis Rossignol as its Director General. With over 20 years of experience as an educator and Principal at Poupore Elementary school, Rossignol steps in to replace Fernand Paré.

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