New Administrators

New Leadership in Elementary Schools
Posted on 09/08/2017

Elkhorn, Lewis and Westview Elementary have welcomed new leadership into their buildings this year. Jill Evert has been hired as the new Lewis Principal, after the previous principal, Christi Rice, moved to Elkhorn Elementary. At Westview, Anneliese Gould is taking lead after previous principal, Rita Linhart, retired last year.

Each of the administrators shared that the start to their new year was very positive and praised the staff members at their buildings. Evert, who has worked 30 years in education (25 of those in Excelsior Springs), said that she has always had a soft spot for Lewis. She feels Lewis is unique due to the diverse population that it serves. “Here at Lewis we have a great mix of rural and urban students. Another wonderful thing to see are so many siblings following siblings.”

Evert explained that much of her preparation for the position was taking a look at the demographics of the community and the building itself. “We have a very high free and reduced lunch population at Lewis and are not culturally diverse. In looking at schools across the state, I have been studying those elementary schools that are similar in demographics, and are high performing. My goal is to make an impact in our school that can be recognized at the state level for top performance in academics.”

Gould, who has worked for 15 years in education, had similar experiences to share and is giving her focus this year to building relationships within the building. “We are doing the little things to instill change and comradery within Westview this year,” Gould explained. “Starting with new paint, furniture, and redecorating, we are looking at how to transform our space to be conducive to learning in an innovative space.” You can see the difference already by stepping into the lobby at Westview, but Gould promises for more changes to come in spaces such as the library, where the staff are working to make learning fun through flexible seating and innovative lesson plans.

Lewis and Westview buildings have also welcomed new assistant principal positions, with Jessica Broadbent taking on the assistant principal position at Westview and Kathryn Andreasen at Lewis Elementary. Look for more information about how each of the building’s years are going by following their pages on Facebook or visiting their websites.