OKC district shuffles principals

Oklahoma City Public Schools on Tuesday announced new assignments for more than two dozen principals, a day after the school board passed a plan to close 15 schools and reconfigure or relocate 17 others. Twenty seven principals, including 11 whose schools will be shuttered, will lead operations in different buildings when the 2019-20 school year begins Aug. 12, the district reported. Horace Mann Elementary Principal Mitch Ruzzoli, Putnam Heights Elementary Principal Susan Carlsen, and Pierce Elementary Principal Paula Pluess are among those whose buildings are closing. Ruzzoli will lead Martin Luther King; Carlsen will lead Britton; and Pluess will lead Rockwood — three of four schools Superintendent Sean McDaniel has said are in need of "transformation." The other school — Thelma Parks Elementary — will be led by Parmelee Elementary Principal Michelle Lewis, whose school will be converted into a middle school. The four schools will receive additional state and district supports, while their new principals each will receive a $25,000 stipend, officials said. "I'm excited about the future of OKCPS, and today's announcement is an important mile marker on our Pathway to Greatness," McDaniel said in a statement. "I look forward to working closely with these school leaders and the rest of Team OKCPS to ensure that P2G comes to life on every campus and in every classroom in our district in 2019-20." Principals at eight other elementary schools that are closing will lead operations in new buildings in the coming year. They are Kandy Bishop at Sequoyah, who will move to Monroe; Susan Combs at Linwood to Kaiser; Nikki Coshow at Edgemere to Van Buren; Gayla Goff at Gatewood to Buchanan; Stacy Storey at Green Pastures to Spencer;Richelle Taylor at Edwards to Willow Brook. Johnson Principal Chris Thomas will lead Classen SAS Middle School and Telstar Principal Elsie Winston will lead Rogers, a middle school in Spencer that will serve grades four through six. Seven other principals are retiring. They are Ycedra Daughty (Oakridge Elementary); Kim Iraggi (Nichols Hills Elementary); Lynn Kellert (Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School); Susan Martin-Rachels (Fillmore Elementary); Jan Mathews (Quail Creek Elementary); Susan Robertson (Westwood Elementary); and Tamie Sanders (Oklahoma Centennial Mid-High). Oakridge, Centennial and Westwood are closing. F.D. Moon Academy Principal Aaron Kellert will lead Nichols Hills in the coming year; Amparo Macias will lead Fillmore; Stephanie Spears will lead Quail Creek; and Lynne Zahn will lead Belle Isle. Succeeding Lewis at Parmelee is Arthur Elementary Principal Rhonda Schroeder. Capitol Hill Elementary School Principal Carson Cramer, whose school will become a middle school, will be the new principal at Adelaide Lee Elementary. Principals who did not receive assignments will be placed into "other leadership roles" that have not been determined, a district official said. McDaniel has pledged to "reinvent" the district by aligning facilities and resources with instructional needs. To do that, the district will find other uses for closed buildings, convert six elementary schools into middle schools, relocate four charter schools and disband the district's mid-high model. The plan includes changes to school boundaries, grade structures and feeder patterns. A districtwide open house is scheduled for May 4 so students and families can visit their schools and meet their principals. To view all principal placements for the coming year visit the district's website at https://www.okcps. org/domain/1312.