Aziz hoping to provide equity and stability as SD57 Superintendent

Jameel Aziz has nearly completed his first month as the new Superintendent of School District 57.

He took over the position from acting Superintendent Pam Spooner on March 25th. He was hired in January after a four-month-long search.

Aziz was most recently the Superintendent of Schools and CEO in the Yellowknife Education District and previously held several roles in education, including Assistant Superintendent of Schools for School District 58 in Nicola Similkameen, and many years as a Principal and teacher in Kamloops.

In an interview with My PG Now, Aziz said before any of that he was also a teacher in Fraser Lake and Vanderhoof, and that “Prince George is an area I feel I have some understanding and connection to.”

“I saw the ability to come and make a positive change here, especially for some of our Indigenous learners and communities,” he said. “I really wanted to go to a system where I felt there was the ability to come in, make changes, and engage with staff and community in a way that is wholesome.”

Aziz’s start as the Superintendent likely came at the busiest time of the year as schools are in the home stretch before summer break – he said in his first four weeks, he has been out of town at different conferences each weekend.

“There is a lot of activity going on,” he said. “A lot of introductory conversations where I am really trying to get a snapshot of the current landscape we are in – what people perceive to be the challenges and the strengths.”

The biggest challenge Aziz sees in the immediate future is the two-million dollar structural deficit that the board is facing on its upcoming budget.

“It is not how I would choose to begin my tenure – having to make changes that will impact programs, systems, and potentially staff, but it is what is needed to be done,” he said. “Hopefully if we address it appropriately this year we won’t have to keep addressing it year after year.”

Aziz is the eighth person to to fill the Superintendent role since 2015.

Brian Pepper resigned in 2015, since then seven others have held the title – Sharon Cairns (interim, 2015-16), Marilyn Marquis-Forster (2016-19), Rod Allen (interim, 2019), Anita Richardson (2019-20), Cindy Heitman (2021-23), Pam Spooner (Interim, 2023-24), and now Jameel Aziz.

“I am more than aware of the history of leadership roles within SD57,” Aziz said. “I had some candid conversations with the board around my perspective and what I would like to accomplish… ultimately it is going to be whether I am provided the opportunity to do that.”

“I have not come with the intention of being here short-term, I hope to be here long-term and see some of the changes I implement carried out,” he continued. “Even in my conversations with staff, they want that stability in the leadership role and consistency in vision.”

The vision Aziz hopes to bring to life is one of an “equitable system.”

“What I see across SD57 are pockets of ‘haves’ and pockets of ‘have nots,'” he explained. “The system was built that way for some reason and it is not very consistent with most districts across BC.”

He hopes to centralize more of the decision making and resource allocation in SD57 and “have some standards across the district” on equity and access.

“We have fantastic teachers here, they are doing amazing work with staff and kids, but we have to relieve them of some of the administrative tasks that have been passed on to them over the years,” he explained. “It is more efficient and we need educators to focus more on education.”

“We are talking about a good-better-best scenario. I’d say right now we are at good; I am hoping to get us to better, then we can start thinking about best.”

Aziz’s first board meeting as Superintendent of SD57 will be held on Tuesday, April 30th.

It will be the first time the board has met publicly since February 27th.