Shan Jorgensen-Adam, the principal of Begbie View Elementary, is leaving Revelstoke, again, this time citing the health of her husband Gerry for leaving.
“When I accepted the position I certainly was in it for the duration,” she told the Times Review. “Shortly after I accepted my husband got quite ill. We were hopeful at the time a treatment could be found but it hasn’t been yet.”
Jorgensen-Adam handed her resignation to the Revelstoke Board of Education on Wednesday, Dec. 5. She notified her staff of her decision later that week.
“Shan’s done an awful lot for this district and her priority needs to be her family,” said Alan Chell, the chair of the Board of Education. “She accepted the job, she was excited about it but her husband’s health is a priority.”
Jorgensen-Adam is leaving after an all-too-brief return to Revelstoke. She spent eight years in the district as principal of Mount Begbie and Columbia Park Elementary schools before moving to Bonnyville, Alberta, where her husband was working at the end of 2010.
In March, she was hired to helm Begbie View Elementary. She returned to Revelstoke to help oversee the move to the new school in the spring.
“We came back because this is home to us and we have family here,” she said. “We certainly enjoy working with everyone and the staff. It was not an easy decision to make but we had to make it to make sure Gerry gets better because family is important.”
Since moving back, Gerry has stayed in Alberta, working and receiving treatment for his illness. They have been unable to find proper treatment for him in British Columbia.
“It’s just been very stressful for our family with him still there and me here and him not well,” said Jorgensen-Adam. “As a family we felt we needed to be together and get through his health issues and go from there.”
She will be returning to Bonnyville, Alta., in late-January, to
Jane Morris will once-again return to the district take over as interim principal of Begbie View while the school board searches for a replacement. The goal is to hire a new principal by the March break.
