Dayton Principal Candidates Meet the Community

DAYTON--Stephanie Kubej and Kristina Brown are the two finalists for the Dayton secondary principal position, and they spent the day last Thursday getting acquainted with students, staff and teachers, and the community.

Kubej hails from Spokane, where she is an interim elementary principal at Balboa Elementary School. She has served as an assistant principal in the Spokane School District, two years as dean of students and PBIS Coordinator in the Bellevue School District, and has 17 years of teaching English at Bellevue High School to her credit. She has also served as an adjunct Communications Instructor at Renton Technical College, she said.

She has an M.A. in Administration, School Counseling and Education, and a B.A. in Journalism.

Kubej and her husband have two grown sons, and she says that having children herself has made her a better teacher.

"I love kids. They are the reason I get out of bed every day," said Kubej.

Kubej said she is tired of all the layers of bureaucracy in bigger school districts and would love a chance to work in a smaller district.

"I would know all the kids. That to me sounds so much better," she said.

She plans to set priorities, do the best with the tools available, develop teacher leaders, enlisting parents and others to help, and she would rely on the counseling skills she has obtained in her career to do an effective job.

With regard to discipline, Kubej said expectations for behavior have to be set, with a focus on the student handbook, and there must be consistent, logical consequences for infractions.

Also, meeting with parents, providing incentives for the students, and sometimes just spending time with them to see what is going on, is useful in keeping kids from being truant, she said.

She was asked how she would help Dayton students develop multicultural awareness.

"Diversity makes us richer. It is important to give kids experiences. Diversity can be integrated into the curriculum," she said. "Sometimes for the good of the kids we need to do something different."

Core values for her are forming positive relationships with all stakeholders in the community, creating strong partnerships between families and the community, preparing students for post-high-school success, providing high quality instruction and support for students, and analysis of school data as a regular process.

She said the words that best describe her are; student-centered, collaborative and fair.

If she is hired, Kubej said she would move to Dayton, if she can find an apartment to rent.

Kristina Brown lives in Richland and teaches 8th-grade ELA and History at Stevens Middle School in Pasco, and she has administrative credentials from WSU.

She has served on a committee developing high school ELA curriculum for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

She is also a mentor for new, second year, and struggling teachers, and a positive behavior intervention leader, a past PTA President and a current co-chair for Action Team Partners. She also teaches AVID, which is a college and career readiness program, and serves as a leader on a professional learning committee.

She serves, also, on a building committee for the Pasco School District, which is in the process of building four new schools.

"I have worn many hats in my building. I feel like I have quite a diverse background," Brown said.

Brown said a culture of respect should be established in the schools, beginning with the staff and filtering down.

She emphasized that the state has set social and emotional learning standards for students, and she talked about the importance of kids being safe at school.

"Every child needs to be in school," said Brown who doesn't believe in out-of-school suspension for students who are misbehaving.

She feels strongly about consequences for misbehavior, and she said she would consider having parents shadow students in school as a positive intervention.

"Parents are diamonds," she said.

Brown said one of her strengths is in the area of Special Education, and she has provided reading support to life skills classrooms.

If she is hired, Brown said she will have an open-door policy, establish priorities by building relationships, and will sometimes say no.

"I hung up my Wonder Woman cape a long time ago," said Brown, who plans to rely on the administration and staff for help. "It's an absolute balancing act. I know your secretaries are your best friend.

"I will face problems head on, as they come," she promised.

Brown said she and her husband have raised seven children, all grown.

"Dayton would be a dream job," she said. "We would want to move here and be a part of the community."

Brown said the words that best describe her are; trustworthy, agent for change, and compassionate.

The Dayton School Board will take Superintendent Doug Johnson's recommendation under consideration and vote on a selection, either on July 5, or on July 18, at a regularly scheduled meeting.

Members of the selection committee are teachers Shayna Hutchens and Jeff McCann, Elementary Principal Denise Smith, High School Secretary Angie John, School Board President Dan Butler and Superintendent Johnson.