Several new administrators named to NPS

By Pat Nolen

August 09, 2008 12:23 am

— Administrators who are new to the district or who are in new positions for the 2008-2009 school year include:
Dr. Bob Neel, director of transportation, is coming to Norman from Elizabeth, Colo., where he served as superintendent of Elizabeth C-1 School District since August 2006. Prior to that time, he served as superintendent of Schools in Guymon, Valley Center, Kan., and in Locust Grove.
Adams Elementary School welcomes Linda Baxter as principal. She served as assistant administrator at Wiley Post Elementary for Putnam City Schools prior to coming to Norman.
Roosevelt Elementary School welcomes Beth Spears as principal and Olivia Dean as assistant principal. Spears served as principal at Skyview Elementary School in Yukon and is replacing Susan Powell who has been named principal at Eisenhower Elementary School filling the vacancy as a result of Randy Waddell's retirement. Dean is moving from the special services department where she served as a coordinator of special services.
Kristie Eselin, who has been serving the district as an assistant principal at Truman Elementary School, has been named principal at Truman to replace Dr. Shirley Simmons, who has been named the director of professional development and student assessment, replacing Elaine Hale upon her retirement.
Paula Palermo has been named principal at Lakeview Elementary School and is coming to the district from Kingston Public School District where she has been employed since 1997. She is replacing Doris Sanders who retired at the end of the 2007-2008 school year.
Dr. Roger Brown, former director of secondary education for the Norman Public Schools, has been named assistant superintendent of administrative services, replacing Dr. Richard Schiller who retired.
Dr. Nick Migliorino has been named director of secondary education to replace Dr. Brown. Migliorino taught in the Norman Public Schools in the 1990s. Since leaving Norman, he has served as an assistant principal at Moore West Junior High School, assistant principal at Putnam City High School, and most recently as principal at Tahlequah High School.
Holly Swanson, assistant principal at Norman High School, has been named principal at Whittier Middle School to replace Sharon Dean who retired.
Coming from the elementary classroom, Dr. Cindy Taylor, McKinley Elementary School, and Robye Kay Jackson, Eisenhower Elementary School, have been named assistant principals. Taylor has been assigned to Washington Elementary School and Jackson has been assigned to Truman Elementary School. These assistant principal positions are new for the 2008-2009 school year due to the increased enrollment at both of these schools.
Two new assistant principals have been named. Scott Beck will be the assistant principal at Norman High School replacing Swanson. Beck has served the district since 2004 as a social studies teacher at Norman High School. Lori Connery will be the new assistant principal at Whittier Middle School replacing Shelly Coleman who resigned. Connery joined the Norman Public Schools in 2001 as a counselor at Whittier Middle School.