Washington schools’ admin departures are “perfect storm”

WASHINGTON — At the start of next school year, all but one of the Washington school district’s four buildings will have a new principal. Other prominent administrative roles, including that of the curriculum director and athletic director, also will see new leadership.

District officials — including several of the outgoing staff — said the changes weren’t in response to any concerns, but a perfect storm of neutral factors.

Some are entirely beyond the district’s control. Lincoln Elementary Principal Susie Lund said she was moving to Detroit, where her husband had received a dream job offer.

"He is now the assistant pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers … so I’m going to be following him,“ she said. ”Mine is a very unusual circumstance, and I’m super sad to be leaving, actually. I love Lincoln.“

Much of the coming change, however, is a result of the district’s early retirement option this school year. In some cases, that’s a direct impact, as leaders like Middle School Principal Curt Mayer take the offer and step out of education.

In other cases, the change is more of a shuffle as staff leave their positions, but stay within the district under new titles.

Such is the case at Washington High School, where the district has not yet named next year’s principal. Current Principal Teresa Beenblossom declined an interview, but said she would take the place of Curriculum Director Veta Thode, who is signed up for early retirement at the end of this school year.

Lund said high-profile examples like that drew attention to the issue.

“It does look weird to have that many district leaders leaving,” she said. “Anyone over the age of 55 (with) 10 years of experience in the district could take advantage of that early retirement … we have a lot of openings right now, districtwide in staff.”

Superintendent Willie Stone said a “perfect storm” of factors created the scramble of staff, but that the dust had mostly settled for current administrators and teachers. Now, buildings are moving to hire for the spots that remain, with a goal of filling each one before the current school year ends.

"We’ve got several to hire still, we’re working on it, but it’s also super early,“ Stone said. ”We’re trying to do a lot of that stuff right now so that no matter who comes into the position, they know the standards, the benchmarks, everything their student in that classroom needs.“

The front-loading includes plans for an administrative retreat, team-building, and tracking the standards and benchmarks for each class.

Stone said the effort would make next year’s transitions as smooth as possible.

“Whoever comes in, they’ll be able to get this document that says, ‘Here’s what we’re teaching in third grade, this is how it fits into fourth grade, and here’s what’s coming in from second grade,” he said. “They know those skills that our students are supposed to have, so they’re able to teach.”

While the schools alter their staffing setups, Stone said he wished outgoing and incoming personnel the best.

“We’re excited about our new hires,” he said. “Sometimes new hires bring … different ideas, we just get different ideas in the district.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com