Sunday July 6, 2025 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated July 9, 2025]
Notes by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
As this school year ends after grad season and the arrival of summer break, the Sooke School District (SD62) has announced the upcoming retirement of David Strange, Associate Superintendent, effective this summer.
Dave Strange began his journey in SD62 in the Sooke and west shore region in 1997 as a teacher on call before moving to SD79 where he taught at Lake Cowichan Secondary.
“In 2005, we were fortunate to welcome him back as Vice Principal of Pacific Secondary,” said SD62 in a news release on June 26, 2025.
Strange went on to serve as Principal of Journey Middle School in Sooke (August 2009 to December 2012) and held dual roles including District Principal of Student Advocacy (December 2012 to August 2015).
In 2012, he transitioned into district leadership as District Principal of Student Support Services, and from August 2015 until now had served as an Associate Superintendent based in the SD62 administrative office in Langford.
For many of those years he was the Assistant/Associate Superintendent for the Sooke family of schools (SD62 schools are overseen by three associate superintendents generally based on location of the main highschool in each of Sooke, Colwood, and Langford).
Strange provided “steady, student-centered leadership throughout his tenure”, the school district says, adding that “he leaves behind a legacy defined by care, integrity, and service”.
Political timeline:
Strange spent all of his leadership years with SD62 during the Horgan NDP era on south Vancouver Island.
The late former Premier John Horgan was a strong proponent of education and used his education system connections in Sooke and the west shore region as part of building his political base during 2005 to 2023 as MLA (Juan de Fuca / Langford) and then Premier.
It was under Horgan’s direct influence that the former Ministry of Education became the Ministry of Education and Child Care in 2022.
Ushered to the top of the SD62 school board almost right out of high school in 2014 was Ravi Parmar — who became MLA For the Langford-Juan de Fuca riding in 2023 and re-elected in 2024 in Langford-Highlands, becoming the Forests Minister in Eby’s new cabinet.
For all of Horgan’s hands in the pot of education in the west shore, Strange never seemed to be a part of it the way others on the board and senior staff often were. He focused on the students and didn’t seek the limelight.
Strange introduced some creative and innovative programs especially for teens and was instrumental in ensuring there was as little stigma as possible for families that needed financial support especially during the COVID years.
The soft touch:
Strange did have a way of tuning into the human side of education. He was attentive to the needs of students in ways that other administrators did not seem to grasp or implement.
That was recognized at the senior staff and board level, as observed by Island Social Trends Editor Mary P Brooke when she covered SD62 news in-depth at nearly every board and committee meeting during 2014-2024.
The school district writes in their news release that Dave Strange “played a critical role in SD62, overseeing elementary education, curriculum, emergency planning, early childhood education and childcare, and healthy schools”.
“His thoughtful leadership and unwavering commitment to supporting students, families, and staff have left a lasting and positive impact across our district,” it was stated by SD62.
“Over his more than two decades with SD62, David’s calm and compassionate approach has helped guide the district through growth and change. His steady presence and quiet wisdom have shaped how we support students and care for one another as colleagues.”
“While we will miss David deeply, we are grateful for his years of service and wish him all the very best in his next chapter,” states SD62.
SD62 was very supportive to Strange when he had family issues to deal with. It showed the compassionate side of the school district in general but in particular for this caring educator and administrator.
Filling Strange shoes:
Details regarding the recruitment process for a successor as one of the three SD62 Associate superintendents will be shared in the coming weeks.
But it will be tough to find someone with the same insightful compassionate touch as Dave Strange.
Jobs at the top:
Currently the SD62 Superintendent is Paul Block and Deputy Superintendent is Monica Braniff. The other Associate Superintendent is D’Arcy Deacon.
That is a slightly different senior executive organizational structure than under the previous two Superintendents who oversaw three Associate Superintendents.
===== RELATED:
NEWS SECTIONS: K-12 EDUCATION | SOOKE SCHOOL DISTRICT SD62