Wenzl Considered for Permanent Principal Position

DAYTON - Dayton School District Superintendant Doug Johnson has requested that the Dayton School Board consider hiring Kate Wenzl as permanent secondary principal.

"Mrs. Wenzl has demonstrated the leadership skills required to be considered for the district's continuing position of Junior Senior High School Principal," Johnson said Thursday.

During the regular school board meeting last Wednesday, Johnson proposed a series of meetings, or interviews, between Wenzl and members of the board, the school staff, and the public beginning next week to help the board make its final decision.

Each meeting would open with Wenzl spending 10 to15 minutes sharing about herself and discussing her short-term and long-term goals as Dayton's Junior Senior High School principal. The meeting would then be open for questions from the audience, Johnson said.

At the end of each meeting, participants would be asked to complete a feedback form to be reviewed by the superintendant and school board members as they make their hiring decision.

"This process provides our school community the opportunity to learn more about Mrs. Wenzl's goals as a principal in order to determine if she is the best match for the position," Johnson told The Times on Thursday.

The plan would be for the superintendent to prepare a recommendation for the Dec. 17 board meeting either accepting Wenzl as the continuing secondary principal or opening the position for a larger search in January.

Wenzl was hired as interim Junior Senior High School principal this summer to replace Andy Maheras, who resigned in July. Wenzl grew up in Davenport, Washington, and is a Washington State University graduate.

She lived most recently in Port Angeles, Wash., where she taught for many years and then worked as an elementary school principal for six years and a middle school vice-principal for two. She also worked for a time as a special education administrator.