Olympia School District welcomes four principals, technical education director

Four principals, one assistant principal and a technical education director have been added to the Olympia School District's employment roster.

The Olympia School District (OSD) Board of Directors welcomed the new hires at a board meeting on Aug. 27. 

Superintendent Patrick Murphy said despite a competitive job market, the district has hired some “amazing people" for the academic year, which starts on Thursday, Sept. 3.

“One of the really cool things about the work that we do is we get to start fresh every year. ... And one of the things we get to do, even during times when there's not a lot of hiring going on, (is) we get to bring in new people to do new things for our school district,” Murphy said. 

New hires 

The new director of Career and Technical Education and College & Career Readiness, Bianca D’Allesandro, is a former middle school principal and education program coordinator at Oakland Unified School District in California.

Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Inger Owen introduced her, saying D’Allesandro embeds restorative justice and the relational approach in her work. 

“She's extraordinarily student-centered and that is also evident in some work she did at Skyline where (she) worked really hard to increase graduation rates … and increased by 29 percent," Owen said.

Owen said D’ Allesandro’s efforts on the A-G requirements (college prep courses) at Skyline High School will be a big asset for OSD. 

Assistant Superintendent James Whitehead welcomed and introduced the new principals and their families. 

Karen Zarate is the new principal at Reeves Middle School, which is a first for the district. Zarate was the interim principal, and is now principal at the school. 

“Ms. Zarate has been a steadfast leader in our district. She is super collaborative, hard working, (and) thoughtful. She is super dedicated to our students and our staff,” Whitehead said. 

Zarate then introduced Chris Gonzales, the new Reeves Middle School assistant principal, saying Gonzales is a great fit for the team with the knowledge he brings. Gonzales came from Steilacoom School District. 

Melissa Hayes was introduced as the new Lincoln Options Elementary School interim Principal. Hayes has more than 20 years of experience in education, and has served in the district in a variety of roles as a teacher, instructional specialist and administrative intern.  

“Melissa brings a strong instructional background, a deep understanding of our district and has demonstrated commitment to supporting both students and staff,” Whitehead said. 

Janet Hubbard, former assistant principal at Reeves and interim principal, is the new principal at Jefferson Middle School. 

“Janet brings another 20 years worth of experience as an educator and school leader with a strong background in middle level education, instructional leadership, student support and school systems,” Whitehead said. 

New McLane Elementary School Principal Erin Caldwell is a former assistant principal at Clover Park School District, and instructional coach and substitute principal at OSD. 

“Erin brings a strong combination of instructional leadership, school administration and classroom experience, with the leadership style grounded in relationships, collaboration and deep commitment to students,” Whitehead said.