The Abbotsford school district has named a new assistant superintendent.
Mary-Anne Smirle will join current assistant superintendents Steve Carlton and Angus MacKay early in the new school year. She fills in a vacancy left when Kevin Godden was appointed superintendent to replace Julie MacRae, who moved to Regina.
Smirle was most recently the principal of Chilliwack Middle School, and also served as the district's director of instruction.
She began her career as a teacher and vice-principal in Langley before moving to the central Okanagan, where she was a principal at several elementary schools.
Smirle holds a master's of education with majors in learning disabilities and educational leadership.
At the provincial level, she helped bring Aboriginal culture and traditions into the mainstream curriculum, and was recognized by the First Nations community for making a difference for Aboriginal students.