Tessa Barrass nominated for Edwin Parr award

By Reed Clements

The Northern Gateway Public School Division has nominated Whitecourt’s own Tessa Barrass for the 2017 Edwin Parr Teacher Award.

Barrass teaches Grade 3 at Whitecourt Central School. She has been active in the school community, volunteering for the school’s Breakfast Program and Lunch Clubs. She also organized this year’s Jump Rope for Heart charity activity.

The Edwin Parr Teacher Award is awarded by the Alberta School Board Association at the end of each year to six first-year teachers across Alberta. The award is designed to celebrate all-around excellence in new teachers.

Each school board is only allowed one nominee, meaning that Barrass has stood out not only at Whitecourt Central School, but across the entire Northern Gateway Public School Division.

The award is named for Edwin Parr, who was president of the Alberta School Boards Association—then known as the Alberta School Trustee’s Association—from 1956 until his death in January 1963. Parr created an award of a gold watch and a certificate of recognition for one teacher every year, in celebration of that teacher’s long and successful career.

However, following Parr’s death, the Association sought to honour his memory by creating a different award, one that celebrated new teachers rather than longstanding ones.

Parr hailed from Athabasca, and participated in the founding of the County of Athabasca in 1959.

The Edwin Parr Teacher Award is one of several awards given out annually by the Alberta School Boards Association, and the only one that recognizes teachers. Some, like the Indigenous Shining Student Award, recognize outstanding students, while others, such as the Premier’s Award for School Board Excellence and Innovation, recognize entire school boards.

Barrass’s hard work and positive attitude have already benefited Whitecourt’s students, and, regardless of whether she wins the award, her strong teaching will go on to enrich the lives of students for years to come.