Lakeland Catholic superintendent Joe Arruda retiring

Joe Arruda is a passionate and dedicated educator who has served Lakeland Catholic School Division as Superintendent for the last eight years. His steadfast commitment to excellence in education has made a tremendous positive difference on the Division.

Joe has had a long career in education serving as a high school teacher, school principal and senior administrator. In 1989, he was appointed principal of a central high school and in 1994, he was appointed to his first senior administrative role as Assistant Superintendent of a Roman Catholic School Board in southwestern Newfoundland.

For the past 27 years Joe has been a senior administrator in Newfoundland, Manitoba and Alberta. Joe is a transformational leader and as Superintendent of Lakeland Catholic Schools, he and his division team were responsible for several initiatives including the establishment of a Catholic school in Lac La Biche, introducing high school programming at Holy Family Catholic School in Waskatenau and the establishment of a division online school.

Joe and his team have infused 21st Century learning in Religious Education programming, maintained a strong focus on faith permeation in our schools’ culture, promoted dynamic Indigenous Education programming, and supported strong Literacy and Numeracy programs. Under Joe’s leadership, our division has seen an increase in student enrolment of over 30% over the last 7 years.

Joe’s signature will be seen in this division long into the future, as through his efforts, St.Dominic School, École Notre Dame Elementary School, Holy Cross School, and École Dr.Brosseau School all received significant facility improvements to make them aesthetically pleasing, safe and comfortable learning environments. He and his division team also worked tirelessly to oversee the modernization of École Notre Dame High School, the Cold Lake teacher housing, and the modernization of the Central Office.

Throughout his time with Lakeland Catholic Schools, Joe was responsible for significant leadership in the Division’s grow than development. With our school and Division Administrators, Joe has worked hard to ensure the coordination of efforts for outstanding teaching, learning and student performance.

Joe says, “I have thoroughly enjoyed serving the educational community of Lakeland Catholic and working collaboratively with trustees, educational staff, parents and parishes to ensure that students received a superior educational experience.”

Joe’s retirement will commence on June 30, 2021. The Division would like to thank him for his years of service and wishes him well in his retirement.

-Submitted.