‘Such great memories’: School District 60 superintendent to retire in summer

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — School District 60 (SD60) superintendent will retire this summer. 

Having served as superintendent for SD60 since 2019, Stephen Petrucci announced he will be retiring in the summer of 2026. 

Petrucci told Energeticcity.ca: “A new superintendent will be named prior to the summer break, so I’ll be retiring this summer at some point.” 

Looking back at his career in education spanning 31 years, Petrucci shared certain moments that stood out: “My first teaching job as a teacher, I was first hired as the French immersion teacher for the North Peace Secondary School. 

“Moving into administration and leadership positions around the district was [a] great memory.” 

Being involved with the music program and supporting the French immersion program “was a real highlight” for Petrucci. 

Over the years, Petrucci’s roles evolved and changed in countless ways. 

He shared: “I started teaching at the high school [and] I also taught at the elementary level. 

“Then it sort of evolved when I moved into administration, [but] I always had a teaching assignment as well.” 

Petrucci shared that as his role evolved, he became more aware of the district as a whole.

He noted: “When I moved into the board office as director of instruction in 2011, I really got a sense of [the] big picture, where we needed to go as a district and how to support our families and staff.”

Petrucci shared that the best part of the job is connecting with people: “[This] includes not only my current staff because I’m really grateful I have a wonderful senior team, but also connecting with my former students because they’re in the community.”

“Sense of community is the best part of this job, both within work but also within the community of Fort St. John and [the] surrounding area.” 

Petrucci shared the most challenging part is from a human resource perspective. 

He said: “It’s a fairly large organization with 1,100 employees [and] there are situations that arise that become challenging in terms of managing those HR responsibilities.

“There can be challenging situations with students and families that need to be navigated when there are serious incidents, so that can be challenging as well.” 

Navigating the Covid-19 pandemic as a superintendent, Petrucci shared, was challenging as well. 

“I first became superintendent in 2019. [It] was the 2019-2020 school year [and that was] the year [when] the pandemic hit,” Petrucci said. “Because we had such a great team and things were done in a reasonable and constructive way, it was manageable.”

But Petrucci is grateful to have benefited from a constructive and supportive environment. 

He shared he was most proud of his students’ achievements, especially those from Indigenous communities. 

“[It’s] been a real highlight to see their progress. I’m definitely very proud of the fact we still have a music band program, French immersion program, extracurriculars and well-rounded education in SD60.” 

He told Energeticcity.ca he enjoyed working with his senior team during his tenure. 

He said: “In my case, I have an amazing senior team, relying on them and trusting them has been a really important consideration as superintendent.”

Petrucci has also been the chapter president for the last four years for the Northern Chapter of the BC School Superintendents Association (BCSSA), an organization that includes 14 northern school districts in B.C. 

“It’s been very instructive and rewarding to work with them on common goals such as recruitment and retention, administrative capacity and just supporting each other,” Petrucci said. 

Once he retires, Petrucci hopes to pursue more personal interests but still stay connected to the education world. 

He said: “I am looking forward to more time for family, music and writing and because we’re so plugged into the community, it’s going to be more time to get involved with [the] community.” 

For the person stepping into his shoes, Petrucci said: “[My advice] is the need to trust and work with your senior team, your managers, like the principals and vice principals.

“The best advice I could give is to be grateful for the functional and stable district we have and to keep perspective.

“There will always be challenges both daily and ongoing, but to take a step back and look at how much is going well, I think is very important for a superintendent to have that perspective of gratitude.” 

As he retires, Petrucci wants to thank the community. 

“I’ve been so grateful and have such great memories of students, families and staff,” he said.