For 32 years, Brian Wright dedicated himself to the Estevan Comprehensive School as a teacher and a vice principal. After the doors close on the 2023-2024 school year later in June, the vice principal is sailing off to retirement. 

"It's been a wonderful experience for me. I have enjoyed both being a teacher in this building for 24 years and the last nine years being part of the administration team here at the school. It's been an awesome experience," Wright shared. 

Since 1992, Wright has worn many hats and taught various classes, such as PAA and science. He's also heavily involved in building the Communications Media and Photography programs at the Comp. He said while he's not an expert in those topics, he thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of learning something new. "When I first started building the Communications Media program here, it didn't exist anywhere in the province. There was no Internet at the time, so it was all practical experience that I had to rely on. I had to read a lot of books. I had to interview a lot of people and talk to people about what was best practice. That's how I learned to do all those things."

One of his stand-out achievements in his long tenure was getting ECS students to participate in the yearly Skills Canada Competitions. 

"The Skills Canada Competition was something that I was involved in from the very beginning at the school and in the province. It was thrilling. I managed to take kids from Vancouver all the way to Fredericton and everywhere in between. We had great kids. We're learning about what their practice and skills were in those trades. They got to be involved and meet people from across the country and it was always amazing to watch their skills build and learn from others. As a teacher, it was a tremendous learning experience for me because I got to meet with fellow teachers who were also passionate about those things."

VIDEO: ECS Vice Principal Brian Wright Looks Back at 32 Years of Teaching

As an educator, the job does come with its set of complexities. For Wright, he recalled that he didn't face a lot of adversity. However, he noted the ever-changing landscape of technology and social media added to challenges students faced. 

"When I started my career, there was no cell phones. There was no Snapchat. There was none of that social media stuff, right? The kids today have to deal with a lot of issues that deal with those things and it creates a different complexity for them and as such it creates a different complexity in our classrooms."

"It's not just the technology itself, but the integration of it into a classroom. It's got to be used for good. It's got to be part of what we're doing to make education better. Keeping current in technology is really difficult because it's changing so fast and all the time, whether we're talking computer technology or cameras or whatever it may be. All of these things are changing constantly and I think that's going to be a big issue for teaching going forward - how do we keep our teachers current in what technology is out there and how to use it for best practice in their classrooms?" 

Despite many changes in 32 years, one lesson has stuck around for the outgoing vice principal. "I think the biggest part of teaching is the relationships you build with kids. Having that positive relationship [and] that ability to have a chat with a kid is vital to making them feel inclusive in their building, but it also lets you develop that relationship and help the kids to do what they need to do to make them the best they can be."

So what's next for Brian Wright? He said that he's looking forward to becoming a sub for ECS while he enjoys retirement. Lampman School's principal Annmarie Rosner is set to take over the vice principal position in the fall. 

"I was very fortunate to have done my Masters program with Annemarie. She will make a wonderful addition to the school. She will bring a different set of experiences to the building - and I think that's important. Not everyone has to do it the same way. Having a different skill set when she comes into this role and sits at this desk will be a wonderful addition to this building."