The Director of Education for the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board (WECDSB) has announced her retirement.
Emelda Byrne is set to retire on August 1, 2026, after announcing her retirement at a private meeting of the Board of Trustees Tuesday night.
She took on the role in 2021 and was the board's first female Director of Education.
Byrne began her teaching career with the Simcoe-Muskoka Catholic District School Board in 1987 and joined WECDSB a year later.
She has taught in every division and has served as a curriculum consultant, a vice-principal, and a principal.
Before becoming director, Byrne held several administrative positions over a 14-year period, including supervising principal, superintendent, executive superintendent, and associate director.
She says it was an emotional decision.
"When you've been at something for so long, it's just a part of who you are," she says. "So this is 39 years for me in education, and it's been a true blessing, but it is time to move on. So I do have six more months; I'll be retiring as of August 1, 2026."
Byrne says her 39-year career has been a blessing.
"I'm a very faith-filled person, and I believe that every morning I would ask for strength to start my day, and every day as it ended, I looked at a reflection to see how the day went and what else I could do to improve what we were doing as a collective for the system," says Byrne.
She says working with the Board of Trustees has been great.
"They have a solid governance structure, so it's easy to work with them," she says. "Senior administrative team that I have is second to none. Our principals, vice principals, our staff, support staff, and everybody in the system have worked really diligently the last five years through my tenure; I couldn't be more blessed."
Byrne says she is looking forward to spending more time with her family.
Board chair Lisa Soulliere says over the next few weeks, the board will begin to define the process of finding a replacement for Byrne.