Austin Schools Superintendent Dr. Joey Page announced in a press release Wednesday that current Austin High School Assistant Principal Matt Schmit has been named the interim Principal at Austin High School after a reorganization process that started in January of this year to help better align Austin’s administravie team with the district’s curriculum, instruction and assessment goals.

Dr. Page stated in the release that as part of the reorganization, the district started a comprehensive search for Austin High School’s next principal in February.  To find the best candidates for the school and the District, Dr. Page stated that they needed to exceed stakeholder expectations and their own commitment to improvement.  Dr. Page indicated that unfortunatley, the search was unsuccessful, and Dr. Sheri Allen was hired as interim principal.

Over the past two months, Dr. Page stated that the district’s interview team has been working to find the best candidate for the position and continue to build on the positive momentum at Austin High School. At this time, Dr. Page stated in the news release that he has decided to proceed with an interim principal to provide the space and time necessary to accomplish this critical hire.

To support the transition of Schmit to Interim Principal at Austin High School, Dr. Page announced that current Neveln Elementary Principal Ryan Barnick will join the AHS administrative team, and current English Language Coordinator Lynn Hemann will become the interim principal at Neveln for the remainder of the school year. Dr. Allen will be part of the comprehensive transition plan through the second semester, and Dr. Page noted that he will reassess the hiring process in the spring of 2023.  Dr. Page stated that everyone will begin moving into their new roles after the break with the goal of a completed transition on or before January 17.

Dr. Page wished to thank the more than 25-member interview team that has been involved in helping identify Austin High School’s next principal, and he also wanted to thank the Neveln Elementary School and district Multilanguage Learner staff for their professionalism and support of one another through this mid-year transition.