D21 Announces Interim Superintendent Candidates

D21 announces interim superintendent candidates

Interviews set for Thursday evening; possible decision made that night

Kurt Evans, Theresa Peters and Brian Schimel have applied for the interim North Wasco County School District head job.

The job, a one-year stint beginning on July 1, will affect the district’s operation of seven schools and the education of some 3,000 students during the course of the coming school year.

The School Board is set to hold an executive session beginning at 4 p.m. on April 30th to conduct interviews of the candidates. The board will then move into an open meeting set for 6:20 p.m. the same night to discuss the hiring of one of the candidates. It will be done via a livestream on the district’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/northwascoschools/

District 21 released the following background information on the three candidates this afternoon.

Kurt Evans: Mr. Evans is currently The Dalles High School Principal and started his administrative career in North Wasco County School District as the Alternative Education Director in 2006. He was a vice principal at The Dalles High School from 2012 through 2018 and helped lead the graduation rate improvement efforts that moved the graduation rate from 60% to 87% in six years.

Mr. Evans quoted the following: “I’m inspired to lead this district because a community improves when its’ schools improve. It’s the foundation that everything in a community is built upon. I have always led from a position of developing trust first and expecting results second and will continue to do so as your superintendent.”

Theresa Peters: Mrs. Peters is currently the Dry Hollow Elementary School Principal and started her administrative career in 2002 as the Special Education Coordinator for Chenowith School District. She has been an elementary school principal in North Wasco County School District since 2006 and has been at Dry Hollow since 2010. Mrs. Peters has been the Lead Elementary Principal since 2015.

Mrs. Peters quoted the following: “With the privilege of being a teacher and principal comes a tremendous responsibility to provide the best for our community’s children and families. As an educator I have always kept our students and their best interest at the heart of my decisions. To me, this is a big part of being an ethical educator and leader, especially when it comes to decisions that impact education for all of our students. I take this responsibility very seriously, and work to make decisions based on data, which are rooted in equity.”

Brian Schimel: Mr. Schimel is currently the Human Resources Director for North Wasco County School District. Mr. Schimel started his administrative career in 2001 as a high school vice principal and athletic director. From 2003 -2008 he was an Administrator for the Athena-Weston School District. Between 2008 - 2013, Mr. Schimel held positions as the District assessment coordinator and as an elementary school principal. From 2013 until 2017 he was the Executive Director for Mosier Community School. In 2017 he became the Human Resources Director for the District.

Mr. Schimel quoted the following: “An impactful school leader must be able to serve and lead simultaneously. Although I believe that leadership is situational and adaptable, at my core, I serve our entire community and must perform in a collaborative manner in order to provide the BEST education possible for all of our students, regardless of their origins or home life. Since the beginning of my career in education, this has been my guiding principle.”