Dale Karpluk sends off her last class of graduates

As the days and hours ticked toward a weekend of celebration, Dale Karpluk sat at the computer terminal in her office, writing personal introductions for each of the 45 students who will graduate this year, her last as principal of Jasper High School.

“The kids think it’s about them, and it is,” she says. “But it is also about community. Jasper is a small community and most of these kids grew up here. The community has watched since they were little guys and watched them grow.”

Karpluk in particular has watched them.  She has highlighted the names of 10 students on a list of this year’s graduates and shows it to a visitor. “I taught their parents,” she says.

Jasper was Karpluk’s first teaching job when she graduated from the University of British Columbia, 41 years ago. She taught in the elementary school for 20 years. For the last 21, she has been principal of the high school.

“Students respect teachers who know their stuff,” she says, offering an insight into her long career. “You have to have a good rapport with kids before you can reach them and teach them; it’s a pretty complex job.  School is like a big family. It’s not a business, as the government would like us to treat it, we’re not putting out widgets at the other end. We’re about kids.”

Her message to the graduates leans heavily on school tradition and she leads a visitor on a tour of a long hallway hung from end to end with framed photos of graduating classes going back to 1942-43, their teachers and former principals.

“It’s important for schools to have traditions. We have the graduates’ baby pictures on display, which is a tradition. We have a cap and gown on Friday…a tea for graduates and their parents hosted by grade 11 students. I think community, tradition and ritual are important. I think it’s important for kids to feel proud of their high school. Jasper has a pretty good school system; I don’t know if people totally appreciate what they’ve got.”

“The biggest challenge sometimes is an undervaluing of education, from the standpoint of the resources that are needed in schools, to provide the programs that are necessary. In a small town high school the challenge is to have a balanced program.”

Karpluk’s departure is a month away, and will be marked with a tea in the gym. Her son Ryan, and daughter, Erin will be there. The final month will be busy preparing the ground for her successor, “developing a time table, registering the students. It’s a big giant puzzle and I always enjoy it.”

Then, she says, “I’m going to catch my breath.”

“I’ll miss the job, but I’m happy to be retiring when I love my job. I want to go and do stuff when I’m healthy – garden, golf, hike, travel. So it’s time to go. The world is a big place. I’m going to Europe in the fall, and we have a cottage in Saskatchewan that I would like to go and enjoy.”