PORT ANGELES — An open-house reception is planned on June 9 to celebrate the career of retiring Port Angeles School District Assistant Superintendent Mary Hebert.
The reception, which will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center, 905 W. Ninth St., will be a come-and-go event, as visitors drop by to celebrate Hebert’s 33 years of work in education as she prepares to retire June 30.
The district will not fill Hebert’s position to help balance the 2010-11 budget.
Hebert began in the Port Angeles School District in 1979 as a reading specialist at Hamilton Elementary.
She subsequently taught kindergarten, second grade, third grade and a multiage classroom.
She taught in Lynden and Arlington for two years before returning to Port Angeles permanently.
Hebert was appointed principal of Fairview Elementary in 1997. She was appointed principal of Dry Creek Elementary in 1999, and served as principal for seven years.
In September 2005, Hebert received the KCTS Television Golden Apple Award, a program honoring excellence in education that is made possible through funding from Pemco Insurance.
She was nominated by Amity Butler, who is now the principal at Franklin Elementary School.
“This community has provided me so much as I grew up here in Port Angeles — great teachers, wonderful downtown community business owners from Willi-Lou’s to Toggery and Family Shoe Store, and summer recreation programs,” Hebert said.
“I appreciate this community and how all these individuals contributed to my dreams and this wonderful career I have loved.
“My wish is that I have contributed and served future generations of this community with the same inspiration and passion I received by serving as a teacher, principal and district administrator.”