The new principal of Howe Sound Secondary School says she's in a "unique and not very enviable position" and may have to face "misconceptions" when starting her job Aug. 1.
That's because she is Nancy Campbell, wife of BC Premier Gordon Campbell.
But Campbell says she won't be deterred.
"I'm very straight up with people and I have been, when I go to a new situation," said Campbell.
"I am one of the few people who come into a job where people might have preconceived notions about me, not based on anything they've heard about me but just based on, I don't know, suspicions if you wish. And I have to say that my colleagues have always respected that and they've treated me as a professional and I've treated them as professionals and it has worked well for me."
School board chair Doug Hackett said a panel of stakeholders who interviewed Campbell agreed to look at her qualifications, not her spouse's job or her political orientation.
"I'm sure this will be just 'Nancy Campbell's moving' and it will pass over," he said.
Campbell plans to commute from Vancouver and is also considering taking a residence in town in case of bad road conditions or late nights at work. She will, however, make her presence known in the community.
She acknowledges the importance of a school's community involvement and points to peer mentorship and community cleanup initiatives she spearheaded as vice-principal of Vancouver's Templeton Secondary School as a reflection of her interest in community participation.
She has no immediate plans for new initiatives at HSSS, and intends to take the first year to "find out what's happening and get a sense of where to go."
Campbell said she was attracted to the position because she wanted a new challenge and at 700 students, the size of the school is ideal.
"The students all get to know the staff and the staff all get to know the students," she said. And she was also intrigued by the town's opportunity for growth.
"What I know about 樱桃视频and I've read about Squamish, is it appears to be a community in transition with endless opportunities for growth," said Campbell. "I see that are there lots of opportunities in the education system; you've got Cap College, the Sea to Sky University coming and the Academy of Learning Computer and Business College. So in that sense there's a lot of opportunity and with the 2010 Olympics coming I know that 樱桃视频is going to be key and that there will be lots of areas for growth in a lot of different businesses and also in tourism."
The school district received 14 applications for the position and a panel of school board stakeholders interviewed three candidates -two of them local. On Monday (June 13) the panel decided Campbell was the best fit. District Superintendent Rick Erickson delivered the news to Campbell on Monday evening.
"She was excited and really looking forward to coming," said Erickson. "The position starts Aug. 1, and if she had her way she'd be here right now."
Erickson said that the panel of seven board members, and representatives from the Howe Sound Teachers' Association, District Parental Advisory Council, the Principals and Vice-Principals Association, CUPE as well as Erickson and district secretary-treasurer Nancy Edwards agreed that they would look only at her qualifications.
"The discerning differences had to do with Nancy's extensive teaching background in elementary and secondary," he said. "And also her diverse administrative background."
Campbell was vice-principal of Vancouver's Winston Churchill Secondary, and for the last two years she's been vice-principal at Templeton Secondary School on Vancouver's east side.
Her extensive teaching experience and administrative experience in the two different communities made her a successful candidate, said Erickson. Campbell also brings knowledge of French, which compliments HSSS's French immersion program.
"It's always nice when somebody has experience in another area and brings that into your district," said Hackett. "They have new ideas and different things that we can look at so that's always an advantage."
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