KDSS principal Mark Ozorio retires after 30 years as an educator

Mark Ozorio (above), 54, started his career as a teacher at Kincardine District Secondary School (KDSS) in 1991, and in three weeks, he will retire as the principal of the same school (now known as Kincardine District Senior School).

“I’m a lucky dinosaur,” he says, with a laugh. “I loved teaching, and I loved being a vice-principal and a principal. I’ve seen a lot of changes and that’s what keeps the job interesting – there’s always something to do.

“I’ve always enjoyed my job and over the past 30 years, I’ve loved going to work. I’m very fortunate to have had that through my whole career. This job has brought me a lot of joy.”

Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, Ozorio and his family moved around a lot because his father was in the navy.

“We lived in Ottawa for a time, so I always considered that home,” he says.

He graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in English and history and went on to teacher’s college at McGill University in Montreal.

“I met my wife, Kim, in university and we both wanted to teach,” says Ozorio. So, they both went to Montreal for teacher’s college and were married two weeks after graduation. They will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary this month.

While they were still in Montreal, Ozorio was interviewed for a teaching job at Saugeen District Secondary School in Port Elgin, where Doug Brown was the principal. Ozorio didn’t get the job, but when Brown was transferred to KDSS later that year, he needed a history teacher so he contacted Ozorio and offered him the job, which he accepted.

“So, we ended up moving from downtown Montreal to downtown Tiverton,” says Ozorio, with a laugh.

Now residents of the Town of Kincardine, he says they love the area and have built their lives here. “This is our home.”

He became vice-principal at KDSS in 2003, and five years later, he transferred to John Diefenbaker Secondary School (JDSS) in Hanover where he was principal for seven years, before returning to KDSS as principal in 2015.

Through the years, he has taught at different schools, and enjoyed a year-long exchange with a teacher in Australia. While at JDSS, he helped the staff, students and parents transition to a Grades 7-12 school with a dual-track system to include French Immersion. Two years, ago, he was able to assist with the same transition at KDSS.

Ozorio says becoming an administrator – first as a vice-principal and then a principal - was a natural progression for him.

“A lot about the job was mundane, but there was also a lot of getting the students back into class, monitoring the cafeteria, and minding the crosswalk once the Grades 7 and 8 students joined us,” he says. “I like to be busy and I work hard.”

The highlight of his career has been getting to know a lot of wonderful staff, parents and students.

“It’s been my privilege to be involved in the education and development of so many young people over the years,” he says. “Helping them become responsible citizens who contribute to society and are making a difference in their communities. Helping kids through tough times, and working with families.

“Thirty years is a long time to have worked in this job in a small community. I enjoy meeting students I taught 30 years ago, whose kids are now at KDSS.”

Another highlight is graduation night, he says. “For some kids, it’s been a real struggle to get there.”
 

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A highlight for KDSS principal Mark Ozorio (left) is graduation night; here, presenting a Grade 12 diploma to Darian Kuz
 

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As for changes in the education system, Ozorio says he has worked when the Liberals were in government, the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the Progressive Conservatives, and he has seen the education curriculum change dramatically over the years.

“Teaching is so different compared to when I started in 1991,” he says. “Society has changed, and technology has changed. The school, the school board and the education system have to reflect what is happening in society. Teachers today have different skills, they have to take two years of teacher’s college, and there’s increased training, including child psychology, the charter of rights, and increased math skills.

“It’s a different world with different expectations, and we’re expected to be more forward-thinking than ever before. We have classes in technology that have no text books. We have courses that never existed before. We’re teaching students for a world that doesn’t even exist yet.”

He says the duties of a principal have changed as well. “The job Doug Brown did when he hired me 30 years ago, is so different now. It’s for the better; we’re a more responsive institution now. People look to schools as a gauge of society. What public school means to people has changed so much.”

KDSS has changed considerably as well, says Ozorio. It is now a Grades 7-12 school, due to overflowing enrollment at the Kincardine-area elementary schools. It also offers secondary French Immersion, and last year, it celebrated its first Grade 12 graduate in the French Immersion stream.

“This job has never been boring,” he says. “We have to be responsive to provide the education that meets the needs of the community. We’ve had to re-invent the school and improve the way we offer programs.”

While he has seen a lot of changes, nothing prepared him for the past year with the major disruption caused by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.

“I thought I’d seen it all,” says Ozorio, “but this past year was different than anything else we’ve seen. The students have been in the classroom part of the time, but for the most part, they have been at home, and remote-learning is tough.

“It’s not just being at school, but it’s the extra-curricular activities that are important to students. I coached rugby for 20 years, chaperoned high school dances, and organized graduations. It’s hard on the students to miss all of those great experiences.”

Last year’s Grade 8 graduation and Grade 12 commencement were held virtually for the first time, but Ozorio hopes this year’s commencement in October will be in-person. “It will be my final act as principal and I want to be there with the students to celebrate it.”

So, why retire now?

“I’ve always worked full-time even when I was living on my own at the age of 19 and putting myself through school,” says Ozorio. “I love this job. It was a real vocation, but it was all-consuming, you were never off the clock.

“I’m ready for a change. I’ve put off a lot of things I wanted to do. So, starting in September, I will have the free time to follow up on some of these dreams.”

He will continue to do some supply administration work, but he wants to volunteer in the community, at such things as the Kincardine Legion and Kincardine Theatre Guild.

The new principal, Andrew Riddick, takes over at the end of August. He was principal at Grey Highlands, and acting principal at JDSS.

“He’s an experienced principal and JDSS is the same as KDSS so I expect there will be a seamless transition,” says Ozorio.

So, what will he miss the most, come September?

“I’ll miss the people,” says Ozorio. “I liked being at school, surrounded by all that youthful energy. Of course, that was before COVID-19 hit. I hope we can return to teaching in the classroom, as well as sports, dances, and all the rest.

“It’s the people who keep you going, not the paperwork. You get to know so many families. I hope I’ve done more good than bad. I started at KDSS and I’m ending my career at KDSS. I’ve come full circle, and I’m grateful for that.”

Ozorio and his wife, Kim, have two daughters: Mikayla is a flight attendant but currently on furlough (due to the pandemic) and working at Covenant House in Toronto; and Jacqueline has graduated as a paramedic, lives in St. Catharines and works at the Welland shelter for the homeless.

In other changes to administrators in the Kincardine area, effective Sept. 1, KDSS elementary vice-principal Don Burns becomes principal at Hillcrest in Owen Sound; Huron Heights vice-principal Erica DeVuono takes over from Burns; and Brad Doherty is the new vice-principal at Huron Heights.