Barrie Sketchley, TDSB's longest-serving principal, dies at 85 after 42-year career Barrie Sketchley, the beloved principal of Rosedale Heights School for the Arts for 34 years, has died at 85. The TDSB educator of 42 years is remembered as a champion of the arts and inclusivity. Barrie Sketchley, a Toronto District School Board administrator for 42 years and the beloved principal of Rosedale Heights School for the Arts for 34 years, has died at the age of 85. The school announced his death in a letter sent home to the school community on Tuesday, and current principal Joe Ghassibe confirmed that the school library will be renamed The Barrie Sketchley Library on the day of his celebration of life. Ghassibe wrote in the Oct. 13 letter that it is with great sadness the school announces the passing of Mr. Barrie Sketchley, RHSA's beloved Principal for 34 years.He said Barrie's love and support of the arts, his students, and his staff will be felt in the school building forever. He added that Sketchley's kindness and compassion, his tenderness and charisma, as well as his magnificent sense of humour, have created the community the school now represents.Sketchley Remembered For Love Of ArtsDuring a May 2023 interview with CTV News Toronto, Sketchley said he walked into a classroom in 1965 and never wanted to look back, adding that he loved all of those years in between. He said he loved working with young people, seeing them mature, watching where they were going, and helping them get there. There was lots of laughter along the way as well as tears through the journey, he shared at the time.Affectionately known to some as Sketch, he worked at Eastdale and Bloor collegiates before coming to Rosedale Heights School for the Arts. At that time, it was a vocational school known as Castle Frank, Sketchley told CTV News Toronto. It then became Rosedale Heights Secondary School before evolving into RHSA in the 1990s.Ghassibe said Sketchley's leadership empowered staff to make an important change at Rosedale Heights and turn the school into a School of the Arts, where all identities were included and affirmed. Barrie was a pioneer, he said. Not only did Sketchley help create Rosedale Heights School for the Arts, he also worked at a vocational business school for girls at Bickford Centre and the Urban Studies Centre.Protests Ensured Principal Stayed At SchoolWhen the board contemplated transferring him to Harbord Collegiate in 2025, students and parents protested, and he was able to remain at RHSA until his retirement planned for the end of that school year. Sketchley, however, left the school last May due to cancer. For his retirement, the school's parent council commissioned two former students, Nina Djordjevic and Elizabeth Ford, to create a short film in Sketchley's honour.Sadly, the beloved educator, who was known to attend every single school event, missed the screening at RHSA's annual film festival because of his illness. The school newspaper and the yearbook featured colourful farewell tributes for Sketchley. Tasha Kheiriddin, co-chair of RHSA's Parent Council, said the school community sent Sketchley boxes of get well and farewell cards after he became sick and left suddenly. He was a principal like no other, Kheiriddin told CP24 late Wednesday afternoon.Mr. Sketchley was someone who created this culture of kindness, inclusivity, acceptance, and a love of learning, she said. He inspired everyone to do their best. Kheiriddin, who is running for TDSB Trustee in Ward 7, said Sketchley was also a noted champion of the arts at the board. Ghassibe said his predecessor's legacy is one of empowerment.Barrie truly believed and knew that children are our future, he said. Thousands of students as well as families and staff have benefitted from his leadership, support, and love. We will miss Barrie's leadership, his smiles, his love, his wonderful stories of the amazing life he led such as taking his first commercial flight to the U.K. in 1957, his wonderful ski trips, as well as the road trips he loved to take.We honour Barrie today, tomorrow, and forever at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, Ghassibe said. Dozens of Sketchley's former colleagues and students have taken to social media to express their sadness following the death of the heart and soul of RHSA.Former Students Honour Sketchley LegacyHe is being remembered as supportive, non-judgemental, understanding, kind-hearted, and generous, a true leader, a caring soul and a one-of-a-kind person and mentor, who fostered an environment of acceptance, love, and compassion for every person that walked through Rosedale's front doors. They called Sketchley an amazing man who lived an amazing life, saying he will be in all our hearts forever.Others said he had a passion for teaching and the arts, an educator who made an impact on so many lives and managed to remember everyone's name. Many fondly remembered Sketchley greeting the student body every morning, ringing the bell on the school's front lawn. The Toronto School Administrators Association said Barrie Sketchley's 40-plus-year career makes him the longest-serving principal in TDSB history and in the province of Ontario.A private funeral service for Sketchley has already taken place, however a celebration of life for the school community will be held in November. Ghassibe said there will always be a reminder of RHSA's beloved long-serving principal at the school, with Barrie's corner, a re-creation of his office, set up in the foyer. Until the celebration, let us love and laugh and express a passion for life as Barrie always did, Ghassibe said.Sketchley's story, told through the words of alumni, staff and parents, underscores the magnitude of his contribution to education in Toronto. His approach, inclusive, empowering and genuine, will remain a guiding light for RHSA and the larger TDSB community for years to come.