October 25, 2015
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Mark Ozorio (above) has returned to Kincardine District Secondary School for a third time, but now as the school's principal.
And one of his primary goals is to bring French Immersion to the secondary school level.
Ozorio lives in Kincardine and began his teaching career at KDSS in 1991. In 1993, he went to Walkerton District Secondary School and taught for two years before returning to KDSS as vice-principal.
He then went on a year-long exchange to Australia, swapping places with a teacher from down-under. He came back in 2003 and continued as vice-principal until 2008 when he became principal at John Diefenbaker Secondary School in Hanover.
In September, he returned once again to KDSS as its principal.
Before coming to Kincardine the first time, he was living in Montreal, had just graduated from McGill University and he and his wife, Kim, had just married.
"I got a call from (principal) Doug Brown saying there was an opening at KDSS and would I like it," recalls Ozorio. Initially, he had applied for a job in Port Elgin but did not get it.
So, he and Kim came to Kincardine and he taught English and History in Grades 9 to OAC (formerly Grade 13), general and advanced level. Later, he became head of the English department.
While he was happy as a teacher, he wanted to have more influence on the education system and impact change, so he became a vice-principal at KDSS and later principal in Hanover.
A lot has changed since he left KDSS in 2008.
"When I went to Hanover, there were 800 students here at KDSS," says Ozorio. "The student population has declined and now there are fewer than 500 students. Five years ago, there were 49 full-time teachers, now there are 29. Dan Ogilvie has worked here for years and is still the new guy."
Ozorio says he and Kim and their daughter, Mikayla, who was three at the time, had a terrific experience in Australia. And when they arrived back in Kincardine, Kim was expecting their second daughter, Jacqueline, who is now in Grade 11 at Sacred Heart High School in Walkerton.
With all the changes at the elementary schools in Kincardine, Ecole Elgin Market is now completely dedicated to French Immersion, but the only secondary schools offering French Immersion are in Walkerton. Ozorio wants to change that.
"While I was at JDSS, we introduced French Immersion at the high school level," he says. "Hanover Heights has the Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 English stream, while Dawnview has the Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 French Immersion stream. JDSS has Grades 7-12 students, including French Immersion.
"This year, at KDSS, I want to organize a program for French Immersion, to welcome the first Grade 8 graduates from Ecole Elgin Market."
By doing this, Ozorio hopes the secondary school numbers will grow. "At the elementary level, they have had no teacher lay-offs in two years. We will have to start this new program with small classrooms and go from there."
He also wants to improve the technology at the KDSS. "We need iPads rather than laptops to increase ease of use."
As for his time at JDSS, Ozorio says it was a great experience. "They have wonderful staff and students there. It's a busy environment in a big, older, industrial building. There are 770 students, including Grades 7-8 which make up 160 of that."
Now, that he's back home in Kincardine, the best thing is not having to make that drive to Hanover every day, he says. Ironically, former KDSS principal Randall DeKraker lives in Hanover and is back there as principal at JDSS - they just swapped places.
"When you've worked in different schools, it gives you ideas on how to handle things," says Ozorio. "But it's wonderful to be back. Whoever said you can never come home again - I challenge that. The staff and students here are terrific - they're warm and friendly.
"There are teachers here that I taught school with. And my family is glad to see more of me since I'm home from work earlier. Kincardine is a lovely place to live and work."
Kim works part-time at Shoppers Drug Mart, and Mikayla is at the University of Ottawa.
Written ByLiz Dadson is the founder and editor of the Kincardine Record and has been in the news business since 1986.
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