Hastings-Prince Edward director of education announces retirement

Mandy Savery-Whiteway has been an educator for 35 years. Photo via the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board.

By Sarah Law

BELLEVILLE – The director of education for the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has announced she is retiring at the end of August. 

Mandy Savery-Whiteway has held the top job at the school board since 2013, and been a member of the board’s leadership team for the last 12 years, according to a press release.

“Mandy has been an exemplary leader,” Shannon Binder, the chair of the board, is quoted as saying in the press release. “Her passion for education that began many years ago grew into a lifelong love of teaching and learning.” 

Savery-Whiteway, who grew up in Trenton, studied at the University of Toronto and Charles Sturt University in Australia. She was a teacher in the Peel District School Board before starting her career with the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board in 1986.

She taught at Trenton High School, served as vice-principal at Bayside Secondary School in Quinte West, and later became the principal at Centennial Secondary School in Belleville.

She was appointed system principal for student success in 2007, then assistant superintendent, and was the board’s superintendent of human resources between 2010 and 2013. She also served as an education officer with the Ontario Ministry of Education in 2009-10.

“Education is a people business, focused first and foremost on students. It has been my privilege to be part of public education for over 30 years,” she says in the press release. “Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has afforded me many professional opportunities. I am truly grateful to the board of trustees for their confidence and support during my tenure in this role.”

Board members are planning on finding a new director of education in the coming weeks.