By Brent Mcdonald, ECNO President
ERDI was a tremendous success this past month! The ECNO team was very appreciative of the opportunity to speak to Directors from across the province and receive feedback and input on the revisions to our Strategic Plan for 2020 -2023. We were very pleased to host our own session chaired by Anna Marie Bitonti (Nipissing Parry Sound CDSB), and included Denise Andre (Ottawa Catholic School Board), Marianne Mazzorato (Dufferin Peel Catholic DSB), Lyse-anne Papineau (Conseil Scolaire Catholique Nouvel Ontario) and Ab Falconi (York Catholic DSB). Our panellists shared their insights into topics directly related to action items from our strategic plan including; the professional development needs of Information Technology staff, the benefits of shared services, staffing models for secondments to ECNO and variables we should consider as ECNO looks to expand our Regional Information Security Analyst program.
It was clear from our discussions that privacy and security are themes that are top of mind at all levels of our organizations. This was especially evident as boards look to find workable solutions for managing software applications and focus on risk management in light of growing cyber-security threats across many sectors. Recommendations from last year’s Auditor General’s report were an additional focus and discussions were had as to how ECNO can further support boards as they look to respond to the report’s recommended actions. We look forward to continuing these conversations with all of our strategic partners and are most appreciative of the feedback and input we received from the panellists. These conversations are incredibly valuable as ECNO continues to provide services that assist boards in streamlining resources to support student success in the classroom.
Brent McDonald
President
ECNO
Brent.McDonald@ugdsb.on.ca