Dr. Ken Ladouceur
Citing family obligations, St. Johns Public School Superintendent Dr. Ken Ladouceur recently announced his retirement from the position he has held since July 2009. His retirement is effective June 30, at the conclusion of the 2012-13 school year.
Dr. Ladouceur informed all staff in a district-wide email letter last week. Prior to that, he officially notified members of the St. Johns Board of Education at the conclusion of its Jan. 14 board meeting.
“We have been extremely blessed to have had Ken with us for the past four years,” says SJPS Board President Bill Tennant. “He has gotten us through some difficult times and has put us in a great position as we look ahead. He has pulled us together as a district with integrity, trust, respect, accountability, high expectations and service as being the core values that define our work and who we are.”
Dr. Ladouceur spoke to those core values in his email letter.
“St. Johns Public Schools is an excellent organization. It puts people first and truly values the relationships that exist among us all.”
The superintendent noted that the decision to retire from his school family and make the move back to Colorado was not easy.
“I love the people with whom I have had the opportunity to work, but also, I love my family more,” he wrote in the email letter about he and his wife, Marlene, and their family that includes two daughters and sons-in-law and a grandson who is almost two years old. “You may know that we have another two grandchildren on the way making it even more difficult to be there for our family, as well as meet our obligation here to the community. After a lot of discussion and consideration I believe that we have made the right decision.”
In his message, Dr. Ladouceur expressed appreciation for the work done by all district staff during his tenure in St. Johns.
“It has been a privilege and a pleasure to be your superintendent for the past four years and I truly appreciate your kindness and support throughout the time that we have spent together. I truly love my work in St. Johns. I loved it all. There were many difficult days and challenging tasks, but my decisions were always about minimizing their impact on people and doing the very best for St. Johns schools. I am deeply proud of our work and what we have accomplished together.”
Dr. Ladouceur noted a belief that work will continue in his absence.
“It will continue to take strength and determination on everyone’s part to shape that future. Teaching will always be a positive force in building our society.”
The search for a new superintendent is already underway. The school board interviewed representatives from three search firms at a special meeting that was held January 21. Selection of a firm could take place at the regular board meeting that begins at 7 p.m., January 28 in the board room at the Wilson Center.
“We hope to select a search firm at our Jan. 28 meeting, and begin the process of finding a new superintendent,” Tennant says.