Meet Heidi Grant
Heidi Grant was born in Montreal, grew up in Saskatoon, and began her teaching career in Victoria after graduating from the University of Victoria. She taught K-7, primarily in inner city schools while living and raising her family in the Cowichan Valley. She became a vice principal in the Cowichan district in 2000 and immediately became an active member of her local PVPA chapter. She held many roles in the chapter and in the district while becoming a principal in elementary, middle, and secondary schools.
In 2012, she was elected as a director to the BCPVPA board; a role she held for 12 years until her retirement in 2024. She and her husband, Dylan, had moved to Nechako Lakes district in 2014. There she continued in principalships for K-12 and secondary schools, spending her last 9 years as principal of Lakes District Secondary in Burns Lake.
Heidi raised her three girls, Michelle, Jennifer, and Piper in the Cowichan Valley and has always been an active volunteer and avid outdoors person. Living in a small town allows for a wide variety of activities. Heidi is an active Rotarian. She is on the Ride Burns (mountain bike) executive and supports the local cross country ski club. In the winter months she can be found on skis, snowshoes, or her fat bike with friends and family. When the trails are clear she is either on her mountain bike, on a hiking trail, or in her garden.
As her two oldest girls also moved to Burns Lake, she is also often in the company of her grandchildren or her grand dogs. When time permits, Heidi also likes to cook, sew, knit, and occasionally read. Heidi is best described as active, passionate, connected, flexible, and organized. 7
Still working as a TTOC, Heidi calls herself semi-retired and loves the ability to work when she wants to and to have time for other pursuits. Upon retirement, travel outside of school holidays began and she has already been to Australia, New Zealand, Toronto, Montreal, Disneyland, Florida, the Caribbean, and Vancouver Island.
Since leaving everyday work, she does not miss difficult conversations with people who think they know what’s going on in her school or in education, but don’t have all the information. What she does miss and still gets to do a bit as a TTOC, is helping people solve problems and seeing learners find themselves and success.
In the coming years, Heidi plans to carry on with all the above. There are many more places to see and years of being involved in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives. Her plan is to “live every day” and her dream is to have thousands more of those days.
Editors Note: Heidi has become our newest Member at Large, and we are looking forward to working with her now that she has retired.
“Love this time of year with the beautiful flowering shrubs and various colourful plants in our garden,” writes Jeff Larcombe who is passionate gardener.
“Had a mother bear and two cubs visit the other day and they enjoyed our garden lettuce – purposely up high in raised beds to deter the bears! So much for that idea!!” Jeff exclaims.