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Washington High’s likely next principal meets with parents, staff
Molly Duffy
Apr. 19, 2017 10:23 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS - The likely new principal of Washington High School met with about 50 parents and teachers Wednesday night, days before his hire is put to the Cedar Rapids school board.
John Cline, 42, said he is looking forward to a move from North Carolina to Cedar Rapids to head the school, which he said has a clear 'tradition of pride” in academics, athletics and extracurriculars.
'When I think about schools, I think about - what do I want to hear my kids talk about when they come home from school?” the father of three said to attendees.
'It's a school where they want to go every day. It's a school where they're excited to go there every day. They feel loved at the school that they're at, they feel supported, and they feel pushed to be the best that they can be.
'That is what I want for my kids, and that is the type of school I want for the kids that I serve.”
Cline is the sole finalist for the job. Another candidate dropped out of the running.
If the school board approves Cline's hire at Monday's 5:30 p.m. meeting at 2500 Edgewood Rd. NW, he will succeed Ralph Plagman, who was principal of the school for 35 years.
Plagman was asked to resign last summer after a substitute teacher was arrested on a charge of sexually exploiting a student. She since has been convicted.
Carlos Grant has served as interim principal this school year. He said he will be return to an administrative position with the district this summer, where he will oversee middle-level education and personalized education.
Many Washington staff members and parents said they're looking forward to some permanence in the school's administration.
'It's been a hard year,” said Jenny Bosking, a parent of two Washington High students. 'I hope this is the beginning of many great years ahead.”
French and Spanish teacher Kyle Woollums agreed.
'It will be good to have some stability,” he said.
Associate Principal Darius Ballard said he thinks Cline's teaching philosophy will jibe with the atmosphere at Washington, which he said has undergone some changes this school year.
'It's a different school, when you have a changing of a guard from one generation to another,” Ballard said. ' ... (Associate Principal Valerie Nyberg and I) can help him with that transition, and to be frank, we have a lot of senior staff. We have a lot of people here who can tell him the stories of this building.”
Cline said he's spent most of his career as a social studies teacher and a cross-country and track coach. His wife is a special-education teacher, he said.
Since 2013, he has worked as an assistant principal at a 3,000-student high school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district in North Carolina.
Grant and Kennedy High School Principal Jason Kline also worked in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district before joining the Cedar Rapids district. Cline said Grant's and Kline's experiences raising families in Cedar Rapids was a plus for him.
'I see him settling here in the best way,” Superintendent Brad Buck said.
If approved by the board, Cline will start July 1.
Toward the end of the meeting in Washington High's cafeteria, siblings Sofia and Nathaniel Burke chatted with Cline about soccer, swimming and show choir. Sofia, 13, will attend Washington next year. Nathaniel, 17, is a student.
'I think he really hit the nail on the head describing Wash,” Nathaniel said. 'That it's really well-rounded ... It's cool he's picking up on that.”
l Comments: (319) 398-8330; molly.duffy@thegazette.com