New Osoyoos Elementary School vice principal Amanda Jones (left) was greeting children and parents as they showed up Tuesday morning for the return of school. Kate Shull holds Madison as her children Brody and Marley follow behind. As school resumes, both Osoyoos schools are seeing a change of senior administration with only Dave Foster, principal at Osoyoos Elementary returning. (Richard McGuire photo)

The two new vice principals at Osoyoos schools have at least two things in common – they came to the Okanagan to be closer to family and they both made family decisions that this is where they wanted to live.

Amanda Jones is the new vice principal at Osoyoos Elementary School (OSE) and Brad Burns is the new vice principal at Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS).

Last week, the Osoyoos Times incorrectly reported that Lyle Chapman was staying on in that role at OSS. In fact, Burns was originally slated to be vice principal at OSE, but when Chapman took a position in another school district, Burns was shifted to OSS.

Jones said she and her family had already decided to move to the Okanagan before the position became available at OSE.

When the position opened, she applied and was hired early in July.

“My entire family lives here, so it was a move that we had planned on making to spend more time with family,” said Jones, adding that she has family members in Penticton, Okanagan Falls and Oliver.

She was also anxious to get out of Surrey, where she’d grown up and lived most of her life, and find somewhere with a slower pace of life.

“We decided that we wanted to settle down and plant our roots in the Okanagan, where it’s a lot less crazy,” she said.

For Burns, the move is something of a homecoming.

He grew up in Penticton, after moving there from the Lower Mainland in Grade 3, and he graduated from Summerland Senior Secondary School.

But he moved to Alberta to play hockey and go to post-secondary school, first at Red Deer College and then University of Alberta in Edmonton.

He began teaching in 2004 in Camrose, Alberta, and he’s been there ever since until he was hired by School District 53 in May.

Burns says most of his family is still in the Okanagan and that led to the decision to return.

“We always wanted to come back here,” he said. “That was one of our goals.”

A year ago, Burns completed a Master’s degree in leadership in administration and that opened the door for him to apply for administrative positions.

Burns originally was interested in a position at Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver, but a couple of departures among school administrators triggered a musical-chairs-like shuffle and Burns was assigned to OSE before shifting to OSS.

Burns will also be the athletic director at OSS, filling a role that Chapman had previously.

Jones took a different career path, working as a child and youth care worker helping students with behavioural difficulties for six years before becoming a teacher.

She already had degrees from University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University (SFU), but she went on to do a Master’s at SFU.

That led to seven years of teaching in Surrey at the elementary level.

A couple years into her teaching career, she developed and ran a program for refugee families from Syria and Iraq, teaching English language skills and helping them to adapt to Canadian school culture and traditions.

“Many of them had never been to school before,” she said. “My support was in addition to their learning support. It was more of a transitions program as opposed to an academic program.”

Although there was an academic component, Jones said the focus of the program was helping newcomers to feel connected with and supported by the school system.

She’ll be taking on some new challenges at OSE, including working in the library as a teacher librarian.

“I come from a dance background, teaching dance and drama, so I’m really hoping to get involved with the fine arts aspect of the school,” said Jones. “I know that they really pride themselves on being involved in fine arts.”

She has dreams of contributing to the larger community by helping to organize a district-level dance festival, something she was involved with in Surrey for children from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

“If not this year, then the following year,” Jones said. “With everything going on this year, it may not be possible, but that is definitely a goal that I have.”

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

Brad Burns has ended up as the new vice principal at Osoyoos Secondary School after a couple changes as administration positions shifted around. He is originally from the Okanagan, but he’s spent his entire teaching career in Alberta. Burns will also serve as athletic director. (Richard McGuire photo)

Amanda Jones is the new vice principal at Osoyoos Elementary School. Jones has been teaching in Surrey for seven years after previously working as a child and youth care worker with students with behavioural difficulties. She’ll also serve as teacher librarian. (Richard McGuire photo)