5 Poudre School District schools getting new principals for 2023-24

Four Poudre School District schools will have new principals next year, and a fifth will have a familiar face without the interim tag he has worn for the past 15 months.

Three of the principals are already working at the schools they will be overseeing beginning this summer.

The new hires are replacing principals who are retiring at Beattie and Laurel elementary schools and Polaris Expeditionary Learning School, and another who is leaving O’Dea Elementary for a job in education overseas, PSD said in a news release Thursday announcing the new hires.

Lincoln Middle School

Ryan Thomson, who has served as interim principal at Lincoln Middle School since January 2022, when Penny Stires left to become principal at Fort Collins High School, will have the interim tag removed from his title and take over the job on a permanent basis. He was an assistant principal at Lincoln for the previous nine years.

“Lincoln means the world to me,” Thomson said in new release. “I love spending time with the students and staff at my second home.”

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Thomson has also served as principal at the Engineering and Energy Academy at Adams City High School in Commerce City and taught math in Greeley and in San Bernardino, California. He holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University-San Bernardino, a master’s in education from National University in La Jolla, California, and completed an education leadership program at Colorado State University, according to the news release.

Thomson and his wife, Stephanie, have been married for 20 years and have three children.

Polaris Expeditionary Learning School

Polaris’ new principal, Starr Hill, is also a familiar face around the K-12 school, having spent nearly nine years there as the assistant principal.

“I love going to work each and every day, seeing students and teachers thrive and push through challenges,” Hill said in the news release. “I love the K-12 aspect and the fact that I can be helping in a lunch and teaching (elementary) students tricks to open milk cartons at 11:30 and then chatting with high school students about college tours and job prospects at 12:30.”

Hill previously taught language arts at Cache la Poudre Middle School, Fossil Ridge High School and Cresthill Middle School in Highland Ranch; taught English as a second language in Leadville; and served as director of academic affairs for the Salida School District. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Colorado University, master’s degree from CSU and an administrative license in leadership and policy studies from the University of Denver. She also has completed coursework in the University of Northern Colorado’s director of special education program.

Hill and her husband of 20 years, Blake, have two children – Owen and Freya.

She is replacing Joe Gawronski, who has been the school’s principal since this year’s graduating class of high school seniors entered as kindergarteners.

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Beattie Elementary School

The new principal at Beattie Elementary, Cale Whicker, has been the school’s assistant principal since January 2022 and was named the Colorado Association of School Executives’ Assistant Elementary School Principal of the Year for 2022.

Whicker has worked in public education for 18 years, the past nine in the Poudre School District. He holds master’s degrees in educational leadership from CSU and in special education from UNC. He grew up in rural Alaska, where both of his parents were educators.

“Beattie is a unique and caring community, which comes together to meet the needs of each Bighorn,” Whicker said in the news release, referring to the school’s mascot. “Its focus on collaborative teamwork towards endless opportunities demonstrates that small schools can make a big difference.”

Whicker is married and enjoys hiking, biking and cross-country skiing.

He replaces David Patterson, who is retiring after nine years as Beattie’s principal.

Laurel Elementary School

Laurel Elementary’s new principal is James Garcia, a Larimer County native who has nearly 20 years of experience in public education as a teacher, coach, dean of students and principal at schools in Loveland, Longmont and Greeley. He is currently the principal at Rocky Mountain Elementary STEM School in Longmont and has two children attending PSD schools. Rocky Mountain Elementary has won two Governor’s Bright Spot Awards under Garcia’s leadership.

Garcia holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and master’s in educational leadership, with a principal’s license, from UNC.

He replaces Tommi Sue Cox, who is retiring after 20 years as principal at Laurel.

O'Dea Elementary School

Alex Martin, who has previously worked at six different schools in PSD and as a principal in the Thompson School District, will be the new principal at O’Dea Elementary.

“At O’Dea, I will seek to cultivate a safe and caring environment and ensure all students have the foundational skills to be successful,” Martin said in the news release. “Two questions drive me every day as a principal: How do we connect with and inspire each child? How are we growing their whole person (mind, heart, body and spirit)? I aspire to answer these two questions every day as an educator.”

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas, a master’s from UNC and a doctorate from CSU.

The Kansas native has lived in Fort Collins for 20 years, and he and his wife, Michelle, have a daughter, two dogs, and several cats and chickens.

He previously worked in PSD as a special education teacher at Blevins Middle School, Bennett and Johnson elementary schools and as an assistant principal at Dunn, Johnson and Laurel elementary schools.

Martin is replacing Laurie Corso, who is leaving O’Dea to run the elementary-level programs at the American School in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news. 

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Poudre School District schools getting new principals for 2023-24