Horizon superintendent to retire following the school year

Advance File Fhoto. Dr. Wilco Tymensen, superintendent of schools for Horizon School Division.

By Cal Braid
Vauxhall Advance
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On Nov. 26, Dr. Wilco Tymensen, superintendent of schools for Horizon School Division, announced his upcoming retirement. 

After 31 years of service in the education system, Tymensen will move on from it at the end of July 2025. 

A HSD news release called him “one of the most senior educational system leaders in Alberta who has demonstrated a steadfast dedication to the students in Horizon and throughout the province through dedicated service within and outside his jurisdiction.” It went on to praise him as a mentor and leader within the system.

 “Wilco is often approached by colleagues across the province for his opinion and insight into areas such as curriculum, assessment, policy, personnel management, and leadership,” division board chair Marie Logan said in the release. “He has been recognized provincially and nationally for outstanding school system leadership, exemplary leadership ability, and having enhanced the profession of school system administration over the course of his career.”

 He began teaching in the 1994-95 school year and worked for the Palliser and Holy Spirit School Divisions prior to joining Horizon in 1997. He assumed increasing leadership roles, moving from a teacher, to principal, director, associate superintendent, and eventually superintendent of HSD in 2013. He spent time with the College of Alberta School Superintendents, where he served on the provincial executive from 2011 to 2014 and on the CASS board of directors from 2019 to 2024, including a stint as CASS president in 2021 and 2022.

 Tymensen now looks forward to an active, but more leisurely life in natural surroundings. “After 31 years, I felt it was time to shift my focus and spend more time with my family. Lisa and I intend to move to the mountains and for the immediate time period, spend more time together doing what we love; mainly mountain biking and skiing,” he said.

  The HSD board of trustees will now begin its search for a new superintendent. The board thanked and congratulated Tymensen for enhancing the quality of education leadership and public interest in the division and the province.