Mark Thiessen will replace Diane Wright as the new School District 27 Superintendent of Schools effective Sept. 1.
Wright announced earlier this year that she would be retiring in August.
The School District 27 board announced the appointment Tuesday.
Thiessen first began working for the school district in 1985 as a summer student with the custodial crew in the district’s maintenance department.
Ten years later, in 1995, Thiessen returned to the district to begin his teaching career at Horsefly Elementary Junior Secondary School.
Four years later he stepped into the world of school administration at Likely Elementary School and later at 100 Mile House Junior Secondary as vice-principal, then principal at Williams Lake Secondary School.
He also served as district principal from 2004-2007 where he demonstrated strong district leadership skills, the board release states.
In 2009 Thiessen, along with his wife and four children, moved to Rwanda where he served as the program director for a teacher and head teacher training program for the Wellspring Foundation for Education.
After taking this two-year hiatus from the school district, Thiessen returned to the Cariboo-Chilcotin and is currently a teacher at Cataline Elementary School.
“All these experiences, and more importantly, what I’ve learned along the journey, have prepared me well for the challenge that lies ahead,” Thiessen says in the release.
“Congratulations are extended to Mark as he steps into his new position on Sept. 1, 2012,” the board states.