John Napier Burnett was an important pioneer of education in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

Born in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Burnett moved to Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 in 1911 to escape the chaos that was building in Scotland at the time (may be due to the First World War). After completing his education in Vancouver, at the University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

, he became a member of the Epsilon Delta Chapter, Phi Delta Kappa. Burnett consulted the needs of both the students and the staff, and supported the welfare of educational organizations. He became more and more successful in the educational field, becoming the President of the BC Teachers Federation, and as an administrator

Academic administration

An academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities...

 in the Burnaby and Vancouver districts.
In the second world war he served in the Irish Fusiliers, Vancouver Regiment, attaining the rank of Lieutant Colonel.

After a stint in the Cariboo

Cariboo

The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia along a plateau stretching from the Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the woodland caribou that were once abundant in the region...

 and Okanagan

Okanagan

The Okanagan , also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as Okanagan Country is a region located in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. As of 2009, the region's population is approximately 350,927. The...

 regions as an inspector of schools, he became director in various other areas. Burnett's efforts in improving the school infrastructure gave him an opportunity at being the prestigious District Superintendent of Schools in Richmond (1955). He continued his brilliant work promoting educational standards in the community, and remains today one of the pioneers of education in Greater Vancouver

Greater Vancouver

Greater Vancouver is the metropolitan area centred on the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, roughly coterminous with the Greater Vancouver Regional District, which is governed by a body known as Metro Vancouver...

. Today, a school in Richmond is named in his honour, dubbed J.N. Burnett Secondary School.