Principals and Administrators Hired

PSD Names New Principals, Administrators for 2007–08 School Year

Poudre School District is pleased to announce that the following outstanding individuals have been hired to serve as school principals for the 2007–08 school year.

Each school’s interview team—comprised of parents, school staff, and district administrators—screened candidates and conducted extensive interviews, culminating in the selection of these outstanding administrators, according to Cathy Smith, PSD director of certified employment.

PSD congratulates and extends a warm welcome to the following new principals:

Guillermo Medina, Irish Elementary School

Guillermo Medina brings 20 years of teaching and administrative experience to his new role as interim principal at Irish Elementary School. Mr. Medina has taught primary and special education students throughout the district and has served as administrative assistant at Laurel, Irish, and Shepardson Elementary schools. He was the recipient of an Excellence in Education Award in 2003-04 and is experienced in grant writing, literacy acceleration and remediation, and cultural mediation.

Mr. Medina earned his bachelor’s degree in K-12 special education from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley and his master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation from Colorado State University. He received his principal licensure endorsement in 2005 from Colorado State University.

Mr. Medina replaces Brenda Gifford, who will become director of schools in Douglas County School District in fall 2007.

Steve Apodaca, Putnam Elementary School of Science

Mr. Apodaca brings 9 years of administrative and teaching experience to his new position as principal of Putnam Elementary School of Science, pending Board of Education approval on April 9. Mr. Apodaca has served as assistant principal at Lincoln IB World Jr. High School since 2004 where he helped implement Lincoln’s school-wide Positive Behavior Support team to build school culture, facilitated the Student Response to Intervention team, and coordinated school-wide assessments. In addition, he has been a principal, an assistant principal, and a teacher in elementary schools in Santa Ana, California, where he received the 2001-02 Jackson Elementary School Teacher of the Year award.

Mr. Apodaca earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from California State University, Long Beach and his master’s degree in educational administration from California State University, Fullerton. He received his teaching credential from National University, San Diego.

Mr. Apodaca replaces Karen Koehn, who was named principal of the new Rice Elementary School, scheduled to open fall 2007 in the Wellington community.

Hayden Camp, Werner Elementary School

Hayden Camp, currently serving as interim principal at Werner Elementary School, has been named ongoing principal at Werner beginning with the 2007-08 school year, pending Board of Education approval on April 9. Mr. Camp has taught intermediate grades in Minnesota and at Tavelli and Beattie Elementary schools. Mr. Camp was administrative assistant at Tavelli for 6 years and principal intern at Beattie during spring 2006.

Mr. Camp has served on numerous district- and school-level committees including school improvement teams, crisis response team, district accreditation team, curriculum articulation team, site-based management review team, and character education study team.

Mr. Camp earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Messiah College, Grantham, Pennsylvania, and his master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley.

Scott Nielsen, Preston Jr. High School

Scott Nielsen brings a passion for learning and supporting others in their learning, strong leadership, conflict resolution, and team building skills, and a desire to build positive school cultures that foster high student achievement to his new position as principal of Preston Jr. High School. Mr. Nielsen has 15 years of teaching and administrative experience; during the last 10 years, he has taught and coached at Preston and Lincoln Jr. High schools.

Mr. Nielsen earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota, and his master’s degree in special education from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. He received his principal licensure from Colorado State University.

Mr. Nielsen replaces Rick Ramirez, who will retire at the end of the school year.

Jerel Nielsen, Purchasing & Materials Management Manager

Jerel Nielsen has been named PSD’s Purchasing & Materials Management Manager, replacing Pam Franzen who retired March 30. Mr. Nielsen comes to PSD from Weld County School District 6 where he served as purchasing manager for 8 years.

Mr. Nielsen was certified by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing as a Certified Professional Public Buyer in 2001 and recertified in 2006. Mr. Nielsen earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, and is a member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and the Rocky Mountain Governmental Purchasing Association where he serves as a board member and the legislative chairperson.

For additional information about these administrators, contact Cathy Smith, PSD’s executive director of human resources, at (970) 490-3620.

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