GSE alumna named 2012 Oregon Elementary Principal of the Year

Lizi Aguilar-Nelson, IAL ’05, CAL ‘10, principal at Richmond Elementary School in Salem, has been awarded the top state honor for an elementary principal by the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA) and the Oregon Elementary School Principals Association (OESPA). Ms. Aguilar-Nelson is a recent graduate of the PSU Initial Administrator Licensure program (Salem cohort), and recently completed the PSU Continuing Administrator Licensure program as well.

GSE alumna receives statewide administrator recognition

GSE alumna Barbara Kienle has received the 2012 Achievement of Excellence Award from the Oregon Association of Central Office Administrators (OACOA). She was honored at the annual conference of the Confederation of School Administrators (COSA) in Seaside in June 2012, along with other administrators of the year, many of whom are also GSE graduates.

Ms. Kienle is the Director of Student Services at David Douglas School District. She is a graduate of a total of four programs in the GSE: the Initial Special Educator Licensure program in 1991, Special Education Master’s in 1998, Initial Administrator Licensure program in 2001, and the Continuing Administrator License in 2009.

Read the story in the David Douglas School News.

PSU Alumnus Sean Burke takes top state honor

Sean Burke, IAL/MA ’02, Assistant Principal of Curriculum at McMinnville High School, has been named Oregon’s 2012 Assistant Principal of the Year by the Oregon Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA). As a state winner he was automatically entered into the national competition, placing in the top three finalists.

Mr. Burke has been an educator at McMinnville for 18 years, 10 as curriculum vice principal. He has been a social studies teacher, sports coach, and athletic director. He is described by his colleagues as quiet, optimistic, and dedicated. “My focus is on the students and increasing the number of kids who are prepared for going to college and having a career,” he says.

GSE graduate named 2011 OR Middle School Principal of the Year

Susan Rieke-Smith, IAL ’04, CAL ‘09, has been named Oregon Middle School Principal of the Year by the Oregon Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA) and the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA). Ms. Rieke-Smith is the principal of Salem/Keizer’s Houck Middle School. She will accept her award at this month’s annual COSA Conference in Seaside. She did both her Initial Administrator Licensure (IAL) and her Continuing Administrator License (CAL) through PSU’s Executive Leadership program in Salem.