American novelist Thomas Wolfe said you can never go home again.
Apparently, the novelist never met Prakash Raju.
Of course it helps, it’s a little easier to return home, if one never really left.
This year Raju returns to Barrhead to become the associate principal of Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) after a nearly 20 year absence.
Raju, who is originally from South Africa, immigrated to Canada when he was one year-old.
“We settled in High Prairie where my parents, who are both teachers, got jobs,” Raju said, adding that eventually his family relocated to Edmonton when his father got a job with the Alberta Correspondence School, which eventually became the Alberta Distance Learning Centre (ADLC).
However, even though the family moved to Edmonton they always knew they would eventually make Barrhead their home.
In the early 1980s the government started an initiative where they tried to decentralize services by moving their offices into smaller communities.
“So when my father took the job with ADLC we knew that we would be coming to Barrhead,” he said.
That was in about 1983.
“I took my Grade 3 year right here at Barrhead Elementary and went all the way through school at BES and right here at Barrhead Composite High School,” he said, adding in retrospect he is glad he did. “They were great schools and Barrhead is a wonderful community, but at the time I’m not sure I did.”
Like many young people who are from a small community, when Raju graduated from high school he planned to leave Barrhead and never return.
So Raju packed his bags and went off to Edmonton and a basement suite to pursue his degrees in commerce and education from the University of Alberta.
“That lasted about six months maybe even less,” he said, adding that he then moved back to Barrhead and commuted to Edmonton to take his classes.
One of the reasons, Raju decided to return to Barrhead was because of his then girlfriend, now wife.
The pair married early and had two children before he was able to complete his education five years later.
Shortly after graduating university, Raju took a job teaching at Neerlandia Public Christian School in 1998.
“My first year I taught a grade 4/5 split,” he said. “I really enjoyed it, but I must admit it was a challenge especially for a first year teacher.”
After that first year, Raju taught only Grade 4 for a number of years until just recently. For the last two years, Raju has been the school’s junior high school science teacher.
“It was a really good change for pace for me,” he said. “Although I really enjoyed teaching Grade 4, I thought it was time to push myself a bit more and grow more as an educator.”
At the same time as Raju was teaching, he also became an administrator. About two years into his teaching career in Neerlandia, Raju became the school’s associate principal.
However, after being the associate principal at Neerlandia for the last 15 years, he decided it was time to make another change.
So when he saw the associate principal opening at BCHS he decided to apply for the position. The opening was made available after Karen Fischer retired after a 30-year career in education.
“I really enjoyed my time in Neerlandia, but in order to grow as a teacher and as an administrator I think the time is right to make the next step in my career,” Raju said, adding he thought the change would be beneficial for Neerlandia Public Christian School. “After 15 years, it’s time to give others the opportunity to grow and give their input. I think it is a good time for change for everyone.”
Although Raju is comfortable with his decision, he said leaving is a bitter-sweet moment.
“It is a great place to work and it’s almost like I am leaving my family,” he said.
As for his new position Raju realizes that there will be a definite learning curve.
BCHS has a much larger and older student population. Neerlandia Public School is a Kindergarten through Grade 9, while BCHS serves students from Grades 7 to 12. BCHS also houses a much larger student population.
“I absolutely love what I do and working with students and yes the students will be different, but no matter what school you are at, being an educator is all about building relationships,” Raju said, adding that since he is a lifetime area resident, he has a head start. “Yes, it will be more difficult because of the number of relationships, it is still all about getting to know people and genuinely caring for them.”
Raju said he doesn’t for see an issue moving from a Christian based faith school in Neerlandia to one that is secular.
“Everyone no matter who they are or where they work are influenced by their core values. For me those are Christian based,” he said. “In the body of Christ we all have different skills, abilities and roles. Whether I am teaching here or in Neerlandia I’m going to teach students to understand their gifts, abilities and talents, to grow with them and use them with others for the greater good.”
