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BGPS announces administrative changes for the 2017-18 school year
June 1, 2017 Joe Vajgrt
Battle Ground Public Schools announces administrative changes for the 2017-18 school year, including principals, assistant principals and directors. The administrators will begin their new positions July 1.
Andy Schoonover (left) is taking over as principal at Summit View High School for Bill Penrose, who is retiring. Schoonover is currently the assistant principal at Pleasant Valley Middle School. Before that he was the athletic director and assistant principal at Prairie High School, taught social studies at Lewisville Middle and Battle Ground High schools, served as a basketball and football coach, and was the assistant principal of Chief Umtuch Middle School. Schoonover has a master's degree from Concordia University and a bachelor's degree in social studies education from Washington State University.
Ken Evans (right) is taking over as principal at Glenwood Heights Primary School. Evans is currently the principal at Yacolt Primary School, where he has been since 2003 after starting out as an assistant principal. Ken previously taught 6th and 7th grade core subjects at Laurin Middle School from 1993-2003. Evans has a bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound, a master's from the University of Utah, professional education certificates from St. Martin's College, and principal certification from WSU-Vancouver.
David Kennedy (left), will be the new principal at Yacolt Primary School. He is currently the principal at Glenwood Heights, and before that Kennedy was an assistant principal at Daybreak Primary and Middle schools beginning in 2007, with teaching experience dating back to 1997. Kennedy has his bachelor's in music education from the University of Idaho and master's degree in educational leadership from WSU-Vancouver.
Krishna Smith will be the new assistant principal at Pleasant Valley Middle School. Smith has been with the BGPS district for almost 11 years, starting out as a math and English language arts teacher at Lewisville in 2006, and then at Daybreak Middle School as a math and science teacher from 2007-16. This year Krishna has been a math and ELA teacher, as well as an administrative intern at Laurin Middle School. Prior to working in education, Smith was a landscape architect project manager from 1995-2005. Her bachelor's degree is in landscape architecture from Purdue University, and she has a master's in teaching from WSU-Vancouver and an initial administrator's license from Concordia University.
Battle Ground High School will have two new assistant principals. Erick Suksdorf (left) will be a new assistant principal at BGHS, where he has been the special education program coordinator since 2013. Erick has a bachelor's degree in special education from City University of Seattle, a master's in education from Grand Canyon University, and an educational leadership principal and program certification from City University of Seattle.
Heather Ichimura is joining Erick as a new assistant principal at Battle Ground High School. Ichimura is coming to the district from Mercer Middle School in Virginia where she has been an assistant principal since 2015, and held various leadership and teaching roles for the Loudon County Public Schools district since 2011. Before moving to Virginia, Ichimura taught math and social studies at BGHS from 2007-11. She has a bachelor's degree in social studies education from Western Oregon University, a master's in teaching and learning from Washington State University, and an administrative certificate in educational leadership from George Washington University. Suksdorf and Ichimura are replacing Karla Kalian and Dora Swart, both of whom resigned for personal reasons.
Lindsay McQuiston will be a new assistant principal at Prairie High School, filling the position vacated by Jann Byrd, who is retiring. McQuiston has been a math teacher at PHS since 2012 and an administrative intern at PHS and Tukes Valley Primary, filling in for absent administrators for the last two years. McQuiston taught math in Puerto Rico from 2007-09 and in Spain from 2009-11. She has a bachelor's in psychology from the University of Puget Sound, a master's in teaching secondary mathematics from Colorado College, and an initial administrator license from Concordia University in Portland.
Mark Ross (left) has been named as the next superintendent for BGPS. He'll replace Mark Hottowe, who is retiring. Ross has been the district's assistant superintendent of teaching and learning since 2014. Ross started his career in 1982 as a language arts teacher and athletic coach at Camas High School. He also taught and coached in the Issaquah and Renton school districts before serving as assistant principal and dean of students at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Wash. In 2000, Ross returned to southwest Washington where he held assistant principal, athletic director, and principal positions in the Evergreen and Vancouver school districts. He also had stints as the assistant superintendent of teaching and learning at Washougal School District and the executive director of secondary education at Evergreen School District.
Denny Waters (right) has been named the new deputy superintendent. He will oversee the district's Teaching and Learning and Operations departments. Waters has been the district's executive director of special services for the past five years. He has a bachelor's in education from University of Hawaii at Manoa, a master's in special education and teaching from Lewis and Clark College, and earned his superintendent credentials from Washington State University.
Ellen Wiessner (left) will fill Denny Waters' role as the new executive director of special services. Wiessner has been with BGPS since 1993, working as a school psychologist, a behavior consultant, and her most recent position as the director of special services. She has a bachelor's in psychology from Portland State University, a master's in psychology from Eastern Washington University, and a graduate certificate in educational leadership from City University of Seattle.
To fill the position vacated by Ellen Wiessner, Cynthia Christensen has been hired as the next director of special services. Christensen has 21 years of experience in education, having held various roles including the director of special services for Evergreen Public Schools, principal and vice principal positions, a behavior specialist, and special education teacher. She also has eight years of community mental health experience. Christensen has a bachelor's in psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio, a master's of education from Texas Tech University, an administrative license from Portland State University, and an education administration certificate from City University in Vancouver.
Meagan Hayden (right) has been named the director of school finance. Hayden has served as the interim director of school finance since MaryBeth Lynn retired earlier this year, and before that was BGPS' lead fiscal accountant since 2013. Prior to joining the district, Hayden worked as a CPA for 11 years in the private sector. She has a bachelor's in accounting and finance from Washington State University and a school business specialist certification from the Washington Association of School Business Officials.
In photo from left to right: Cynthia Christensen, director of Special Services; Krishna Smith, new assistant principal at Pleasant Valley Middle School; Erick Suksdorf, new assistant principal at Battle Ground High School; Andy Schoonover, new principal at Summit View High School; Lindsay McQuiston, new assistant principal at Prairie High School; and (not pictured) Heather Ichimura, new assistant principal at Battle Ground High School.
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