New principal sets course for new school

She comes from a small town in rural Alaska and has worked at a school with only around 125 students.

She worked in Coolidge, Arizona, another town with a Native American reservation right on its border.

She even quilts.

Cheryl Sullivan is the new principal for the high school and middle school in La Conner, which has seen many big changes at the school district following the so-called Great Wolf Lodge tax decision and the ambitious construction of a new middle school.

“I’ve been walking around, trying the restaurants, trying to figure out what makes (La Conner) tick,” said Sullivan. “I love it.”

Sullivan comes to La Conner from the Seattle School District’s Chief Sealth International High School, which has around four times the roughly 350 students enrolled in La Conner middle and high school combined.

She worked there as an assistant principal.

Sullivan was by far the most popular candidate in the hiring process, said La Conner Schools Superintendent Tim Bruce.

Bruce was particularly impressed with her “wide breadth of experience,” pointing out that, despite her recent urban position, she “understands what it is to work at a small school.”

“I’ve had the fortune of interacting with a wide variety of demographics, culturally and socioeconomically,” said Sullivan.

The position of principal of the two secondary schools in La Conner is unique, where a single principal administers both the middle and high schools.

In the past, some community concerns have centered on the ability for one position to adequately split time between the two schools.

“I’m hoping to take some time in the beginning to take the pulse of the school and figure out where I need to be,” said Sullivan.

The new design for the middle school and high school complex, which is nearing completion, is tailored for a central administration between the buildings.

The offices for secretaries and school administrators will be located in a central office at the entrance to the new middle school.

“I’m looking forward to presenting to the community how all of the ideas and the needs of the students and the community have melded into that gorgeous facility,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan has plans related to another important dynamic at the district as well.

“We don’t always have the more cultural component that a school on the reservation could offer, and so I’m hoping to be able to work with our tribal para professionals (school workers paid for by the tribe) and perhaps draw some other adults on the reservation to help with that cultural component, not just for our native American students, but for all of our students.”

One idea that Sullivan plans to bring with her to the district is “restorative justice,” a concept she also mentioned in the community meeting session that was held in late May.

“The idea is really looking at the action that is causing the problem, and determining how the student could pay back to the school community for that action,” said Sullivan.

She provided an example of an angry student punching a wall.

Instead of giving the student a purely punitive consequence, such as suspension, she would assign the student to help the maintenance crew repair the wall.

“It teaches students that there are real consequences for their actions,” she said.

Sullivan will be living in town and plans to enroll her daughter in the district.

“I’ve promised not to embarrass her,” she said.