An educator with a sound understanding of the challenges facing Central Alberta school districts has been named the new superintendent of Chinook’s Edge School Division.
Kurt Sacher will assume the position on June 1 and replaces outgoing superintendent Jim Gibbons, who announced his retirement earlier this year after nine years as the top official.
Gibbons has been an educator in Central Alberta for 34 years.
Chinook’s Edge, which has about 11,000 students, is the largest rural division in Alberta.
Sacher is an Alberta native who has spent the last seven years as both a deputy superintendent and assistant superintendent in the human resources area with Wolf Creek School Division.
Sacher has been an educator for 23 years in both Alberta and British Columbia.
He has been a teacher, assistant principal and principal in four different school systems, said Chinook board chair Ian Taylor.
Sacher holds a bachelor of education degree with a math major and a master of education degree from the University of Calgary.
“We welcome Mr. Sacher to the team and look forward to working with him to continue our pursuit of excellence,” Taylor said Wednesday.
He said a Canada-wide search attracted interest from educators in five provinces and one from overseas.
“We believe that Kurt’s values and ethics, his strong work orientation and his ability to work collaboratively are an excellent fit for building on the current strengths of our division,” Taylor said.
Sacher has high praise for Chinook’s Edge.
“Chinook’s Edge has an excellent reputation in all aspects of public education. It has developed an excellent program for its students, and I welcome the opportunity to continue to provide a high standard of leadership that will enhance the success of our students.”
He also said he’s eager to be an ambassador for the division and an advocate for its students and staff.