ATHABASCA — Aspen View Public Schools has found a replacement for outgoing Supt. Neil O’Shea, who announced his retirement as of the end of the 2022-2023 school year back in March.
Constantine Kastrinos has been appointed the new superintendent of schools and chief executive officer of Aspen View effective Sept. 1, 2023.
“We welcome Constantine to the Aspen View family and look forward to working with him to continue our pursuit of providing high-quality education to our students,” said board chair Candy Nikipelo, in a release.
“Mr. Kastrinos was selected from a field of truly outstanding candidates. We believe that Constantine’s values and ethics, his strong work orientation, his ability to work collaboratively and his belief in community engagement are an excellent fit for building on the current strengths of the division.”
According to the release, Kastrinos holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Education degree with distinction from the University of Alberta.
He also has a Master’s degree in Secondary Education from the U of A and Education Law certificates from the Association of School Business Officials of Alberta, as well as Work investigations certification and significant Human Resources training.
He currently serves as the Chief Deputy Supt. of the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division, a position he has held for three years.
However, his resumé includes 23 years of working in a variety of positions, including stints as a teacher, department head, assistant principal, supervisor/consultant of planning and principal with the Edmonton public School Board.
In the release, Kastrinos said, “People who work within education systems are charged with caring for and being a part of developing the most precious resource we have: our children.
“This is a tremendous opportunity; all students must have a safe and stimulating learning environment, and within that environment diversity is to be celebrated.”
Noting that he values all staff as individuals and members of professional teams, Kastrinos said he commits to being an ambassador for the division and an advocate for all students, staff and community.
"Big shoes to fill"
O’Shea’s resignation, after holding the position since 2018, was first announced at the March 9 board meeting.
He had originally joined the division in 2014, assuming the role of associate/deputy superintendent.
Although he is retiring, O’Shea indicated that he would continue to work with the division until the end of the year and during the May 4 board meeting, he reiterated that he would work with Kastrinos on transitioning from Grande Yellowhead to Aspen View.
O’Shea said he might try to arrange a date in July when he and Kastrinos could tour the communities served by Aspen View and he could impart some more insight about what’s going on in the division.
“It’s much better when you’re actually there around the buildings for me to share some of that corporate knowledge that I have,” he said.
O’Shea also congratulated the board on making what was probably a difficult decision.
Nikipelo indicated that the process of finding a replacement was made considerably easier by hiring a consultant with the Alberta School Boards Association.
“it’s not an easy job hiring a superintendent and our process was made very smooth for us,” she said, adding that Kastrinos had some "very big shoes to fill.”
