The Board of Trustees of the Grande Prairie Public School Division (GPPSD) is very pleased to announce at their May 25, 2021, meeting of the Board of Trustees that Grande Prairie Composite High School (GPCHS) teacher Kaitlyn Frost is the GPPSD nominee for the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) Edwin Parr Award for excellence in her first-year teaching. As the Division's nominee, Kaitlyn will be given consideration by a committee of School Board Trustees from Boards in Zone 1 to be put forward as one of the six Zone winners chosen from across the province to be a recipient of this prestigious award.

Kaitlyn is a graduate of the Education Program offered at the University of Alberta and has her journeyman Chef certification from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.  Kaitlyn is in her first year teaching grade 9, 10 and 11 Foods at the Grande Prairie Composite High School.  School principal, Mr. Dennis Vobeyda, shared Kaitlyn consistently goes well beyond the call of duty and has already made a significant impact on her colleagues and her students during her first year of teaching.

Mr. John Lehners, Board Chair, shared Kaitlyn's appreciation for the values of the Grande Prairie Public School Division, "Our Board values having high expectations and developing strong relationships in all that we do. We are proud of Kaitlyn's work in her first year of teaching to make a positive difference for her students and to help every student she teaches to succeed."

Evidence of Kaitlyn's effectiveness in teaching and preparing her students at GPCHS can be found in the success of her students in regional and provincial SKILLS competitions.  Three of Kaitlyn's students placed first, second and third in the regional SKILLS competition, and grade 10 student, Olivia Rozinsky, went on to earn the Silver medal at the SKILLS Alberta Provincial Competition as the second-best High School baker in the province!

About the Edwin Parr Award:

Every school board has excellent first-year teachers who deserve to be recognized for their outstanding efforts by being nominated for the Alberta School Boards Association's (ASBA) Edwin Parr Teacher Award. Each school board in Alberta may nominate one teacher for this award, and one winner will be selected by a committee of Trustees in each of the 6 Zones that make up the Alberta School Boards Association in Alberta.  The Zone winner will be identified at a Zone ASBA meeting in September and Provincial recognition for each of the Zone Award Recipients will occur in November at the ASBA Fall General Meeting.

Edwin Parr homesteaded in the Meanook area near Athabasca in 1920. Prior to 1925, he began his long career in educational affairs as a member of the board with the George Lake School District. He served as chair of the board with the Athabasca School Division and was on the council of the County of Athabasca from its formation in 1959 until his death in January 1963. Edwin Parr was president of the Alberta School Trustees' Association (now ASBA) from 1956 to 1962.

"Ed Parr", as he was known to all, instituted an Annual Teacher Award in his school system. Each year a member of the teaching staff was chosen to receive a gold watch and a certificate for long and meritorious service. To honour his memory and to honour the profession he so dearly respected, the Alberta School Trustees' Association (now ASBA) established the Edwin Parr Teacher Award in 1964.

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