Administration
PEAC‘s administrative staff are involved in the day to day school operations, from organizing assemblies, field trips and curriculum delivery to ensuring the school is a safe, productive environment for students and staff. The administration at PEAC is dedicated to ensuring that parents, students, teachers and coaches remain in close communication and are kept up-to-date with the daily activities happening at the school.
Neil Doctorow, Managing Director
Eric Cella, Director of Operations
Dr. Roz Doctorow, Curriculum Consultant
Dr. Gordon Doctorow, Curriculum Consultant
Sharon Turnbull-Schmitt, Principal
Sharon brings a wealth of experience, academic integrity and credibility to our program. We are very fortunate to have such a professional, dedicated educator on our staff as we move forward and grow.
Sharon has been in education for over 40 years and has assumed leadership in public education through the roles of teacher, curriculum consultant, vice-principal, principal and superintendent. She has worked on various Boards across Ontario, and as well as being a student achievement officer for the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat in the Ministry of Education. While at the ministry, Sharon worked in the Ottawa Region with nine Boards to assist directors, their leaders and staff in improving learning and achievement for all students. Sharon has most recently been a principal in a special education private school in Oakville and has had the privilege of working with staff and students resulting in students achieving beyond their expectations.
She was a superintendent of education with the Toronto District School Board, (including the North York Board of Education), and was responsible for a variety of Family of Schools (K-OAC) with a majority of the schools considered as inner city schools. As superintendent, she held system portfolios that included alternative schools, safe schools, elementary system curricula, special education, and staff development. She has assumed responsibility for curriculum writing and implementation of physical education, health, mathematics and literacy.
Sharon dialogued and in-serviced with her administrators regularly to promote a literacy and numeracy focus for staff in all panels. Her principals and teachers were engaged in active professional learning teams, action research and on-going professional development. Sharon has been responsible for the writing of a number of curriculum support documents in both literacy and numeracy at the system and provincial level, as well as facilitating the writing of the literacy support document, ‘Project Literacy’. Sharon initiated the system wide implementation of the Early Years Literacy Project in Toronto District School Board and has facilitated the professional development of principals, literacy coordinators and literacy and Reading Recovery teachers to support over 100 schools in their whole school approach towards increased student achievement in literacy and continuous school improvement. Sharon was also responsible for the implementation of Reading Recovery™ in over 150 schools with close to 2000 grade one “at risk” learners involved. System data reflects a marked improvement in student achievement as a result of these two projects.
Sharon was a superintendent for over 10 years and always focused on continuous school improvement with literacy and numeracy at the core. She worked collaboratively with diverse teams to create and promote an inclusive culture for learning where adults as well as, students are learners. Sharon champions change and accesses a variety of data consistently to measure the success of the change relative to teacher practice and student achievement.
Sharon enjoyed working with staff, students and parents in the private system. During her two years she worked closely with staff to determine the needs of both students and staff. She initiated extra curricular activities such as Drama, girls’ club, computer club, regularly scheduled sports activities and music club. Student productions were welcomed events and well received by parents and students. Students were involved in personal goal setting to acknowledge their role in their student achievement and recorded their goals on their report cards. The senior students experienced trips for the first time and visited British Columbia and New York. On going parent communication was the core to success for many struggling learners. Sharon believes that anything is possible when people work together to make it happen. Students, staff and parents worked relentlessly to ensure the best opportunities were afforded the students.
Sharon is excited to begin her leadership with elite athletes. She has always been a strong advocate for daily physical education, both in her classroom, and in the various roles which she has assumed. Throughout her career she has written and implemented physical education and health curriculum. Learning is enhanced when the body is fit and ready to learn. Sharon is thrilled to be working with such focused and committed learners!
