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Kate Chegwin (1872–1958) went to elementary and high school in Dundas, Ontario, and received her professional training at the Ontario School of Pedagogy, in Toronto. After some time teaching in Ontario, she moved west and in 1899 began teaching with Edmonton Public Schools; her first assignment was at the Edmonton School, on the site of the soon-to-be constructed McKay Avenue School.
In 1909, Chegwin was appointed supervisor of music for Edmonton Public School District #7; she was also music instructor in three Edmonton schools. In 1911, she was made vice-principal of Oliver School.
In 1914, upon her appointment as principal of the brand-new McDougall Public School, she became the first female principal of a large school in Edmonton. (Also notable is the fact that the school had an all-female staff at that time.) A contemporary ATA Magazine article praised “… her devotion to duty, her mature judgment, and her exceptional ability as a teacher.”
Kate Chegwin’s sister, Emma (1870–1953), also taught with Edmonton Public Schools. In 1928, the two sisters gave up teaching and moved to British Columbia to become fruit farmers. The University Women’s Organization proposed that a new school be named after them in recognition of their contributions to education in Edmonton, but the board chose instead to name the school after the area in which it was built—Spruce Avenue. Eventually, in 1991, the Edmonton Public School Board voted to name a new junior high school after Kate Chegwin; Kate Chegwin Junior High School was opened in 1992.
Kate Chegwin was devoted not only to teaching, but also to the profession—she served as secretary and vice-president of the Northern Alberta Teachers’ Association, vice-president of the Alberta Educational Association and vice-president of the Women Teachers’ Club of Edmonton. She also served as the Edmonton representative on the executive council of the Alberta Teachers’ Alliance from 1919 to 1920 and from 1922 to 1923.
