Michelle Bautista

Durham Catholic District School Board

Our Mission: We are called to celebrate and nurture the God-given talents of each student as we serve with excellence in the light of Christ. The Durham Catholic District School Board serves some 22,000 students in forty elementary schools, eight secondary schools and eight Continuing and Alternative Education sites. With the exception of elementary schools in the townships of Beaverton, Uxbridge and Port Perry, all of the Board's schools span the lakeshore communities from Pickering to Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa. Some 30% of the Board's schools were built in the last twenty years. The increase in secondary school enrolment after government funding changes in 1984 resulted in the construction of five of the Board's eight secondary schools. Catholic schools in Durham Region are not a new phenomenon. Over the years, Religious Orders worked diligently in an effort to establish Catholic schools in Durham Region. One of the oldest schools in the Province, St. Gregory Catholic School, was established in 1859 and was a living tribute to the heritage of Catholic schools in Durham, until its closure in 2008. Our newest school will open in Whitby in 2013.