Bill DeWitt, an administrator for Lawrence Public Schools, will be the new high school principal next school year.
The school board went into executive session during a special meeting Monday night to discuss the hiring of a new principal. News of Justin Bogart’s resignation came in late March, leaving the board with limited time to find a replacement.
Superintendent Stu Moeckel said there were nine applicants for the position. Interviews were conducted last week.
According to DeWitt’s LinkedIn page, he now serves as a Lawrence administrator involved with the College & Career Center, Alternative Academy, adult education, diploma completion and Juvenile Education Center.
He has previous experience working as an assistant principal/athletic director, as an adjunct professor at Newman University, as adjunct faculty for the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at KU and as a principal at Thomas More Prep-Marian.
DeWitt worked for the Eudora schools between 2002 and 2009 as a history teacher and has worked as a wrestling coach. He worked for the Tonganoxie school district as well.
He has his EdD from the University of Arkansas where his dissertation focused on student stress and the high school experience. He also has degrees from KU and Pittsburg State.
DeWitt said Monday night that he is excited to reenter the district.
Eudora is a special place to him and his family, as his three daughters were born there and started school in the district. While living in Eudora for 10 years, he got to meet a lot of colleagues and opened the new high school in 2003. He said he still has friends working in the district and is “elated” to be back
When the position opened, DeWitt said he was called to apply because it’s a special place. He said he is grateful, humbled and excited to get started.
“I know that they’ve had a lot of turnover and leadership in the last couple of years, and I felt like I might be a good fit to come back into the town and guide us through all the upcoming changes that are going to be happening in the Eudora community in the next several years,” DeWitt said.
His first goal as principal is to get into the community and meet families, students and staff. Understanding the goals of the school, board and superintendent will also be a priority, he said.
“But, you know, my personal goals, anywhere I go in administration is to just really create an environment that students and families want to be a part of, knowing everybody by name and making sure that everybody comes through there has a great experience and has a plan to give back to their communities when they graduate,” DeWitt said.
A teacher committee was put together to help with the hiring process, Moeckel said. DeWitt got to meet with staff in the library after his interview last week. The committee and Moeckel then made the recommendation to the board. Two candidates were interviewed for the position.
Moeckel said DeWitt’s range of experiences from director and principal of the college and career center in Lawrence as well as assistant principal at Lawrence High School will be an asset to the district.
“I also think that, you know, just his knowledge, curriculum and instruction as well as the activities side and the ability to form relationships with families, with students and with faculty is really exciting,” Moeckel said.
The district is looking forward to continuing to do great things with an experienced leader who understands Eudora, Moeckel said.
“We’re excited for Dr. DeWitt to get started, and we know Bill’s familiar with the community and we think he’ll make an impact,” he said.
Board member Claire Harding said she is confident in the decision and trusts the recommendation from the teacher committee and Moeckel.
“Dr. DeWitt stood out because of his collaborative leadership, his extensive history with collaborative leadership, his multitude of leadership positions in other learning centers,” Harding said.
He brings a “great deal of experience,” board member Joe Hurla said.
“I think he has a personality that’s going to be a good fit for Eudora, for the high school and for our community,” Hurla said. “I think he’s going to be very excited about learning about what opportunities are in high school to advance the great things that are going on there.”
DeWitt’s official first day will likely be July 1, but DeWitt will start meeting other building administrators and getting familiar with the district beforehand, Moeckel said.
