By Chris Hendrickson, Monitor
Sultan High School, Sultan Middle School and Gold Bar Elementary will be under new leadership as the Sultan School District welcomes three new principals for the 2013 - 2014 school year.
Tami Nesting was hired to be the principal at Sultan High School, replacing Cal Johnson who retired at the end of last year. Nesting, who has been in education for over 20 years, was formerly the assistant principal for the Mukilteo School District. As a reading instructor in 2003 at Mariner High School, she was honored with the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award which is the largest educator recognition program in the United States.
Nathan Plummer is the new principal at Sultan Middle School, replacing Robin Briganti, who accepted an executive position within the district office.
Plummer was the former assistant principal at Ridgefield High School in the Ridgefield School District, which is located in southwestern Washington.
In 2011, Plummer made a deal with Ridgefield High students who were competing against another high school in a food drive contest. He vowed to shave his head and "Rock a MohawkGÇ¥ if Ridgefield triumphed and collected the most food, which the school succeeded in doing. Plummer had his head shaved by Ridgefield Principal Tony VanderMaas at a school assembly in January of 2012.
Jake Rodgers is the new principal at Gold Bar Elementary School, replacing Shawn Ryan, who decided to move back to his hometown of Snohomish. Rodgers formerly worked at Challenger Elementary School in the Mukilteo School District.
"I would say that I am at Gold Bar for a reason,GÇ¥ said Rodgers. "For what reason, I'm not sure yet. I know there is a plan and I'm excited to work with the amazing staff and families to find out what that is.GÇ¥
Originally from Bothell, Rodgers lives in the Seattle area. He has been in education for nearly a decade.
"My personal goals for the year are to learn, improve, and help the staff and students I serve improve,GÇ¥ said Rodgers.
Both Sultan and Gold Bar Elementary Schools will be offering free, all-day kindergarten this year, the result of an Washington State code in which lawmakers mandated that statewide funding for all-day kindergarten programs be completely phased in by the 2017 GÇô 2018 school year. The funding is being provided on a priority basis, given to the schools with the highest poverty level first.
Gold Bar Elementary was selected as one of the schools to be included in this year's budget; however Sultan was not yet made eligible. In an effort to remain consistent, the Sultan School District decided to allocate the necessary resources to provide free, all-day kindergarten at Sultan Elementary, as well.
Kindergarten registration can be completed at the district office, located at 514 4th St. in Sultan. Parents need to present proof of their child's birth date with either a birth certificate or a signed hospital certificate, plus proved immunization records. Children must have turned five years old by Aug. 31 to be eligible to attend kindergarten.
The Sultan School District stated that they are looking forward to the new ideas and direction that will come with new leadership.
"We hired three quality people that are fantastic leaders,GÇ¥ said Superintendent Dan Chaplik. "We couldn't be happier with the outcome of the hiring process.GÇ¥
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