New Principals Take Helm

Three South Spokane elementary schools have new principals this year, as does Medical Lake Elementary.

Here is a little about them and their plans for the 2000-2001 school year.

Sheridan

Sheridan Elementary’s new principal is as familiar with 2-by-4s and cement as he is with g.p.a’s and textbooks.

“My journey to be a teacher was not the typical one,” said Don Warner, who took over this year when six-year Sheridan Principal Brian Melody moved to Woodridge Elementary.

Warner, 51, said he knew he wanted to be a teacher in high school but had to put that dream on hold when he married Ruth, his college sweetheart, at 19. Instead of pursuing his ambition, Warner started working in construction to make money for his new family.

He never lost sight of his goal, however, and continued to study part time.

At 40, he received a bachelor’s degree and teaching certificate from Eastern Washington University. Later, he earned a master’s degree in K-12 administration.

“It was like, I couldn’t believe I had it done,” he said.

He said that his experience in the business world added depth to his approach to teaching.

“I could tie real-life stuff right into the lesson,” he said.

After teaching for several years, Warner was hired as principal for Crescent Harbor Elementary on Whidbey Island.

“The kids really looked up to him - literally,” said his former secretary, Carolyn Swanson. Warner, who is 6-foot-5, always projected a powerful presence, “but had such a good way with the kids that he made them feel at ease and earned their trust,” Swanson said.

Warner has received hearty approval from former principal Melody, who talked extensively with Warner about education this summer at work and over golf.

“He’ll do a great job there, and from me that’s saying a lot” Melody said. “When you spend six years in a place, believe me, you are invested.” Warner, in turn, gives Melody kudos.

“When you follow an effective leader like Brian, your first year you’re just trying not to mess things up,” Warner said.

Moran Prairie

Janet Gores may be new to Moran Prairie, but she’s hardly a rookie administrator. On her second stint as a principal for Spokane School District 81, Gores succeeds Marilyn Highberg, who has been named an area director for the district’s south-central schools.

Gores moved over from Wilson Elementary, which has almost half as many students as the 550 at Moran Prairie.

Working at a bigger school offers administrative challenges, Gores said.

“At a larger school, it takes more time to know people - students and parents,” she said. “And with a larger staff, it can take more time to get them moving in the same direction.

“It was hard to leave the wonderful staff at Wilson,” she said. “But I’ve heard great things about the staff at Moran Prairie.”

Her first priority will be to listen and learn. It will take about three years for Gores to be fully settled into the rhythms of Moran Prairie, based on her previous principal experiences, she said.

Gores stresses teamwork among faculty.

“I think that teachers really need to work cooperatively and share with each other to promote student learning,” she said. And it can be hard, she said, for teachers to find the time to do that.

“We have to create time,” she said, something she is committed to help teachers do.

And most importantly, she said, “I am always going to be an advocate for kids.” Gores moved to Spokane from the Clover Park School District in Tacoma, where she was principal at Lake Louise Elementary.

While at Wilson, Gores oversaw a massive construction project that included the addition of a wing and a significant expansion of the school’s library.

Gores lives in Liberty Lake with Roger, her husband of 33 “and a half” years. For fun, Gores said she likes to bicycle, garden and play with her three granddaughters.

Wilson

Don’t be surprised when you see a woman on a slick, black-and-red Harley-Davidson motorcycle roll up to Wilson Elementary.

It’s probably the principal.

Rita Burr, 44, is a Harley enthusiast and loves to ride, she said. She has taken over as leader of the pack at Wilson after three years running Chattaroy Elementary in the Riverside School District.

“She’s a wonderful, very caring person,” said Glenda Thompson, Burr’s former secretary.

“What really impressed me was her ability to deal with people,” she said. “She’ll really be missed.”

Burr said she was attracted to Spokane School District 81 because it is exemplary in the support it gives teachers and administrators. The district is the second largest in Washington state, and Burr said that means she also has more peers to rely on than at other districts where she has worked.

“It’s just a wonderful feeling to have that support base,” she said. During her first year, she wants to spend time listening and learning from staff, faculty and parents, but also mingling with students.

“Unless I’m in a meeting, I am going to be talking with children and learning about their day.

“In a way, it’s like being an anthropologist,” she said. “The climate and culture are already there, and you have to discover it.”

She doesn’t plan to make any radical changes.

“If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it,” she said. “Then again, sacred cows sometimes make great hamburger.”

Medical Lake

For Cynthia McSmith, being principal at Medical Lake Elementary means she will be able to try something new while still doing what she loves best - education.

“After being a teacher as long as I have been,” she said, “I can now look at education from a different point of view - that is dealing with the entire system to make a difference.”

Being new also means that she is looking at the Medical Lake district from a “fresh set of lenses,” she said.

A teacher for 26 years, McSmith most recently worked at Stratton Elementary in the Newport School District north of Spokane.

Parents and staff at Medical Lake Elementary can expect that she’ll provide an environment that is safe and nurturing, she said, and where every student feels recognized.

“I want school to be a welcoming and inviting place,” she said. “You do that by convincing every student that they are the most important people in the school.”

She and her husband John still live in Newport, and McSmith commutes a little over an hour to work, listening to books on tape to pass the time.

The couple have five children and enjoy golfing and boating.