Bjork named interim Coupeville superintendent

Coupeville School District is currently on its third superintendent for the school year. The Coupeville School Board recently named Lisa Bjork as interim superintendent. Bjork, who was a former superintendent of the South Whidbey School District, was named interim superintendent last month. She will lead the school district until early June when permanent Superintendent Jim Shank takes over.

Coupeville School District is currently on its third superintendent for the school year.

The Coupeville School Board recently named Lisa Bjork as interim superintendent.

Bjork, who was a former superintendent of the South Whidbey School District, was named interim superintendent last month. She will lead the school district until early June when permanent Superintendent Jim Shank takes over.

Coupeville School District has been without a permanent superintendent since the end of the 2012 school year.

That’s when previous superintendent Patty Page resigned after being hired by the North Kitsap School District. After conducting an initial job search and rejecting three finalists last year, the school board named Karen Koschak as interim superintendent.

Koschak served through most of the current school year until abruptly resigning in February because of a family medical issue. Jerry Jenkins, superintendent of the Educational Service District based in Anacortes, filled in for several weeks before the school board named Bjork their latest interim superintendent.

Bjork, who had served as assistant superintendent for the South Whidbey School from 1992 to 1996 and as superintendent from 1996 to 2000, said she couldn’t turn the job down when school officials called.

She also works at Seattle Pacific University teaching educational leadership and overseeing principal and superintendent interns.

She said she sees herself as a bridge between Koschak and Shank.

“I’m just trying to connect the dots between what has been going on and what needs to be done,” Bjork said Friday afternoon.

There are several projects she will be involved in during the coming weeks.

School officials will be busy developing a budget for the 2013 – 2014 school year.

Staff will also be busy implementing a new math program that will be consistent with new federal common core standards and work piloting a new principal teacher evaluation system is still moving forward.

Coupeville School Board announced in February it offered Shank the superintendent position.

He is currently the superintendent of the Juab School District in Utah and he is scheduled to finish the school year before starting his duties in Coupeville, which is scheduled to take place in early June.

He visited the school district this week to meet with staff and familiarize himself with the ins and outs of the school district.

 

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