Kathyrn School will be welcoming a new leader in the fall as Scott Woodward will take over the role of principal that will be left vacant when current Principal Brad Walls makes the move to Bearspaw School in August.
“I’m pretty excited,” Woodward said of the new role. “I’ve heard nothing but tremendous things about the students, the staff and the tight-knit community; I think that’s what I’m looking forward to the most.”
Woodward joined Rocky View Schools (RVS) in September 2013 as the acting assistant principal of Rocky View Online, but his career began long before that and he brings 16 years education experience to the role.
During his 16 years in education he has been a teacher, lead teacher, learning services consultant, assistant principal, and principal from 2007 to 2013 at Summitview Middle School in the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division.
“Scott will be a wonderful addition to the Kathyrn school community,” said RVS Superintendent of Schools Don Hoium in a press release.
“As a dedicated and passionate leader, Scott has demonstrated the ability to build a collaborative student-centred learning environment focused on the individuals needs of students.”
Woodward holds a masters of education in educational leadership from the University of Calgary. During his tenure in education he has been responsible for coaching teachers and administration in a wide number of areas including data analysis, advances in the science of education and the use of technology, and collaborative problem solving.
“On behalf of the board, I extend our congratulations to Scott on his assignment as principal of Kathryn,” said RVS Board Chair Colleen Munro in a press release.
“We look forward to watching Kathyrn continue to thrive under his leadership in the fall.”
Woodward said he is not concerned about making the transition from the online school environment to the classroom environment because he was in the classroom environment for 16 years and has experience in a smaller community.
The new principal has experience in both the middle school and elementary school environments and said he looks forward to working in the classroom environment once more.
He said he hopes to use what he learned about navigating the online learning environment and the tools available to act as a bridge between that and the classroom environment.
He added he is not going to Kathyrn with plans to change things because, “They’ve done such a good job there.”
“I’m going to see what I can bring to what’s already going really well there,” he said.
“Really, I want to get in there and meet with the staff and community members to see where they want to go.”
RVS has yet been announced who will replace Woodward as assistant principle of Rocky View Online.
