Celebrating Excellence: Gerry O'Reilly, Superintendent of Education

Congratulations to Gerry O’Reilly, Superintendent of Education, on his retirement from the Durham Catholic District School Board effective August 31, 2020!

Gerry was born and raised in Burlington, Ontario. He was first hired by the Durham Catholic District School Board as a teacher in 1987 when he was assigned to a Grade 7/8 class at Our Lady of the Bay Catholic School in Pickering. This was a very fortuitous placement for Gerry, as it not only launched his distinguished career in education but also was the place where he met and fell in love with Mariah Riordan, his wife of 30 years, and mother of their four handsome boys, Joseph, Sheamus, Sean and Quinn.  

Gerry demonstrated creativity and leadership from his early days as an educator and was successful to the position of Vice-Principal in 1994. Prior to his 2013 appointment to Supervisory Officer, Gerry was a school administrator at many Catholic elementary schools. Of particular note, was his appointment to St. Joseph Catholic School in Oshawa. Gerry’s exemplary leadership was called upon as the school went through a demolition, relocation and the building of a new facility and then was identified as one of the Ministry of Education’s first “turnaround schools”. Gerry was generous in sharing the expertise that he gained through these experiences with his colleagues across the board.  

In 2013 Gerry was appointed to the position of Supervisory Officer. Since that time, he has overseen Family of Schools and held responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including Student Achievement, Parent Involvement, MISA, EQAO and Leadership Development. Gerry is perhaps best known for his instructional leadership and exceptional abilities to build community. He has an unlimited supply of creative ideas to engage students, staff, parents, administrators and communities in the work of Catholic education.  

In 2018 Gerry was appointed as a Council Member with the Ontario College of Teachers. He has been an active supporter of the Durham Catholic Children’s’ Foundation, a course instructor for Principal Qualification Programs at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)/University of Toronto, the Chair of Education Programs for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and a representative of DCDSB in multiple community organizations and committees. 

An active member of his parish, Gerry has volunteered as a Youth Group Assistant and contributed his time at St. Vincent’s Kitchen for St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church. Gerry received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Trent University; Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University; and Masters of Education from Brock University. He completed his Supervisory Officer Qualifications with the Ontario Catholic Supervisory Officers’ Association. Gerry once said that he would consider himself successful if he had influenced or enriched the lives of his students – by that metric, Gerry’s success has been extraordinary! He will be greatly missed by his colleagues and friends at DCDSB.