October is National Principals Month, an opportunity to recognize school principals for their significant impact on the success and well-being of our nation’s students. We honor our Washougal principals by highlighting specific projects or work going on in their school that they are proud of.
As the first ever principal of BOTH Cape Horn-Skye Elementary and Canyon Creek Middle School, Brian Amundson is proud of his work with the leadership team and staff to create a K-8 vision for both schools. Amundson was hired as CCMS principal and found out the day before school opened in August of 2020 that he was needed to lead both schools.
“Last year was about survival, but this year we began bringing both staffs together,” he said. “These two schools have always been linked and even share the same vision statements. However, they have been operating as two separate entities. This opportunity to work with both school communities has been incredible.”
Amundson is extremely proud of the response of the staff to this change in leadership and structure. “This is an amazing staff who work hard every day to give all of our kids the best possible school experience,” he said.
A significant step was to combine two staff meetings each month. “We are working toward using common language, high-leverage instructional practices, and a K-8 support system for students,” he explained. “I am excited that we are introducing AVID practices into the elementary school this year because our middle school teachers are familiar with it.”
The combined staff meetings also build valuable connections between staffs. “At a recent meeting a sixth-grade teacher voiced their appreciation for how well prepared the fifth graders were in Claim-Evidence-Reasoning or CER writing strategy,” Amundson explained. “That type of interaction may not have happened without having everyone together.”
The Student Success Team is also K-8 focused and meets weekly to discuss students that need support. “Now when we hear about a student in one school, we can look for siblings at the other school to see if there are any needs there,” he said. “It is more of a seamless process.”
“Traditional education can be boring for kids,” he admits. “My long-term goal is to make education here more engaging, with real-life connection, project-based learning and more Career and Technical Education (CTE). Although we are a traditionally structured school, we can build in some project-based learning elements that are pretty powerful.”
Amundson said the work towards creating one culture for these schools will still maintain the separate identity for each. “We want students to feel that they are going to a new school when they go from fifth grade to sixth grade, but not lose the community atmosphere that is so important on this campus,” he said.
