Boulder Valley schools welcomed six new principals this school year, replacing those who retired, took other positions in Boulder Valley or took jobs in other districts. Here’s a look at who’s leading those schools.

Creekside Elementary

James Hill, a native of Colorado, is taking on his first principal role at Creekside Elementary after spending the last four years as an assistant principal at Fairview High School. Before becoming an administrator, he was a teacher and coach in the Adams 12 School District, where he taught at both the elementary and middle levels.

He said he chose Creekside because of its diversity and the high level of community support.

“Everybody is fired up for student learning,” he said. “The goal is to put our kids first to make sure they’re successful.”

He said he believes in shared decision making and collaboration and is planning to form committees that include teachers and parents. Given the school’s diversity, he said, he also wants to make sure immigrant families feel not just welcomed but needed.

“My style is to have a forum where everybody has input and can be involved,” he said.

Creekside’s last principal, Alejandra Sotiros, took a principal job in Denver Public Schools.

Emerald Elementary

Samara Williams is coming to Broomfield’s Emerald Elementary after 16 years in the Adams 14 school district in Commerce City, where she worked as a teacher, librarian and principal.

She is an advocate for school wellness and her last school, Rose Hill Elementary, was recognized in 2010 as the Fit 4 Colorado School Challenge winner for December. She also created a partnership with the local business community to fund and build a nine-station fitness course on the Rose Hill playground.

She said she chose Emerald because she wanted to work in the same district where her three sons attend school — she and her family live in Superior — and to “be part of the academic excellence that is the Boulder Valley School District.”

“Emerald was a perfect fit for me — a neighborhood school that serves a diverse population of students,” she said.

She said she’s been working with the school’s staff members since she was hired in April, determining that a consistent approach to teaching, learning and school operations is a top priority.

“A school should be a fun, warm, welcoming place to learn and work,” she said. “I try to always lead by example by being cheerful, welcoming and doing things that energize my staff.”

Williams replaces David Tanaka, who took a principal job in Durango.

Heatherwood Elementary

Brent Caldwell, the new principal at Boulder’s Heatherwood Elementary, is returning to Boulder after 12 years in Wyoming.

Caldwell, who replaced Larry Orobona after he retired as Heatherwood’s principal, served as an elementary school principal in Big Horn, Wyo. Before that, he taught second, third and fifth grades in Boulder Valley and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Heatherwood, he said, was the first school he visited for an observation as a CU education student.

“Life has come full circle for me,” he said. “Boulder Valley is a great school district. I wanted to be back here.”

He has training and experience in the professional learning community model that’s now being used in Boulder Valley to improve collaboration among teachers, led a high-achieving school in Wyoming and was recognized in 2010 as Wyoming’s National Distinguished Principal.

His main goal for his first year, he said, is to get to know Heatherwood and make sure everyone is working with a clear vision.

“All highly effective schools have a clear purpose for what they’re trying to accomplish, and even offering a tutor from the best center for IGCSE tutors nearby the school” he said.

Horizons K-8

John McCluskey, the new principal at Horizons K-8, replaces longtime principal Sonny Zinn. Zinn took a part-time position as principal of Boulder Explore, Boulder Valley’s new program for homeschool families.

McCluskey comes to Horizons, a Boulder charter school, from the Jefferson County Open School in Lakewood, where he worked as the assistant principal. He has worked in various school and nonprofit settings since 1989, along with working as a school consultant with the Boulder-based Passage Works Institute and with the California Center for Council Practice.

He said Horizons appealed to him because the school community keeps students and their needs at the center of its practice.

“I am eager to continue to build upon this approach as an example of what is possible in public education in our community and our country,” he said.

He said he wants to spend the first year honing the school’s shared vision.

“We will be focusing on our common story as a school, both what has been built to this point and what principles and practices we want to commit to taking us into the future,” he said.

Pioneer Bilingual Elementary

Kristin Nelson-Steinhoff first applied for the principal job at Pioneer eight years ago, but was turned down because she lacked principal experience. She gained that experience working in Denver Public Schools, applying again after Pioneer principal Miguel Villalon in May requested a transfer to a part-time administrator position, citing personal reasons.

This time, Nelson-Steinhoff got the job at the Lafayette school.

“I have a passion and enthusiasm for dual-immersion education,” she said. “Pioneer really serves as a model for other dual-immersion schools across the state.”

She worked as a principal at a bilingual Denver elementary school for seven years, also serving as an assistant principal and bilingual kindergarten and fourth-grade teacher.

At Pioneer, she said, she wants to get to know the students, parents and teachers.

“I want to help us move forward to become that best that we can,” she said.

Summit Middle School

Jim Eagen is coming from a private school background to serve as the new principal at Boulder’s Summit Middle School. He most recently worked as the head of the middle school at a private school in New York and has experience with the International Baccalaureate middle school program.

During his 20 years in education, he has led workshops on issues that include technology, social aggression and diversity and has presented on panels addressing bully prevention and curriculum innovation.

He said he chose Summit, a charter school, because “they do middle school better than any middle school I’ve seen. I wanted to be part of a great academic middle school.”

His main goal for the first year, he said, is to get to know the school community and have the community get to know him. Another goal is to look at updating parts of the building, especially the math classrooms.

“It doesn’t match the level of excellence of the actual math program,” he said.

He said he sees himself more as a leader than a principal and promises collaboration.

“It’s really exciting,” he said. “I’m going to be learning quite a bit.”

Along with hiring six new principals, the district named University Hill Elementary School’s interim principal, Ina Rodriguez-Myer, as the Boulder school’s permanent principal. Rodriguez-Myer served as the interim principal for a year and has worked as a teacher and administrator in Boulder Valley for 21 years. Before moving to University Hill, she worked as an assistant principal at Southern Hills Middle School.

Courtesy of: Amy Bounds of Daily Camera

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