People Watch
School Administrator, August 2017


Scott Bailey
Following a six-year stint as the chief academic officer for the Washoe County, Nev., School District, Scott Bailey recently was named superintendent of the Desert Sands Unified School District in southern California, which serves more than 29,000 students and encompasses a half dozen communities. Bailey’s 27 years in education include a year as a Washoe County principal in the district plus 17 years in Clark County, Nev., in administrative and teaching roles. He began as a teacher in Joplin, Mo. Bailey has been a member of AASA since 2016.



Lisha M. Cabral
The school committee in Easton, Mass., has elevated Lisha Cabral from assistant superintendent to superintendent following four years in the former role. Previously, she served in three administrative positions in three years in the Freetown-Lakeville Regional Schools in Lakeville, Mass., including assistant superintendent for curriculum and grants coordination and a year as district literacy coordinator. She taught high school English for 19 years in New Bedford, Mass., before moving into administration. Cabral, who joined AASA in 2014, earned a doctorate in education at Northeastern University.




Dane A. Delli
After 10 years as superintendent of River Trails School District 26 in Mount Prospect, Ill., Dane Delli has moved into the top berth of Glenview, Ill., School District 34. Earlier, Delli served as assistant superintendent in Aptakisic-Tripp school system in Buffalo Grove, Ill., and as a professor of educational leadership at Loyola University in Chicago. He spent the first years of his career in Lyndhurst and Burton, both in Ohio. A member of AASA since 2003, Delli earned his Ph.D. in educational leadership from Ohio State University.



Kevin L. Freeman
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has named Kevin Freeman to work as director of the Missouri School Improvement Program. A 29-year educator, Freeman spent the past five years as superintendent of the 2,300-student Mexico, Mo., schools and five years previously as the district’s assistant superintendent. Earlier, Freeman was superintendent of the 630-student Van-Far R-I School District in Vandalia, Mo. He also had stints as a high school principal in both Mexico and Crawford County, Mo. Freeman joined AASA in 2005.



Penny J. Hargrove
The 1,250-student Mingus Union High School District 4 in Cottonwood, Ariz., has a new superintendent in Penny Hargrove, who spent the five years prior as the superintendent in Hiawatha, Kan. In previous job postings, Hargrove worked as an assistant superintendent in the 2,800-student Valley Center Public Schools in central Kansas, middle school principal in Valley Center and a teacher/coach in Haysville, Kan. Hargrove, who became a member of AASA in 2013, completed a doctorate in educational leadership at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan.





Ben Ploeger
Five years after becoming a charter high school principal in Brighton, Colo., Ben Ploeger has been named the superintendent of Kaohsiung American School in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. An educator since 2003, Ploeger has served as an administrator and teacher previously in New Orleans, La., plus Vanuatu in the South Pacific. An AASA member since 2012, he received the AASA Educational Administration Scholarship Award in 2015. Ploeger holds an Ed.D. in educational leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.




APPOINTMENTS
Scott Feder, from superintendent, Millstone Township, N.J., to superintendent, South Brunswick School District, Monmouth Junction, N.J.
Robert Tremblay, from superintendent, Weston, Mass., to superintendent, Framingham, Mass.
John J. Welch, from superintendent, Preston, Conn., to superintendent, Bozrah, Conn.

RETIREMENTS
Richard Bales, superintendent, Johnson City, Tenn.
David Britten, superintendent, Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, Wyoming, Mich.
Sue Burgess, superintendent, Dare County, N.C.
Bill Cirone, superintendent, Santa Barbara County, Calif.
Kim Cox, superintendent, Le Roy, N.Y.
Frank Davidson, superintendent, Casa Grande Elementary School District, Casa Grande, Ariz.
Jim Hinson, superintendent, Shawnee Mission, Kan.
Marietta James, superintendent, Columbia, Miss.
Robert W. Katulak, superintendent, New Hyde Park, N.Y.
Shawn Lewis-Lakin, superintendent, Royal Oak, Mich.
Tom P. Linihan, superintendent, Adair, Okla.
Howard Mann, superintendent, Glynn County, Ga.
Monica McHale-Small, superintendent, Saucon Valley School District, Hellertown, Pa.
Todd McCrackin, superintendent, East Newton R-VI Schools, Granby, Mo.
David “Butch” Mosely, superintendent, Dougherty County, Ga.
Deborah A. Olson, superintendent, Clinton, Iowa
Owens Saylor, superintendent, Daviess County, Ky.
JoAnn Sternke, superintendent, Pewaukee, Wis.
Judy Wiegand, superintendent, Champaign, Ill.
Kathleen Williams, superintendent, Wausau, Wis.
Thomas L. Williams, superintendent, Kirkwood, Mo.
Jeff Zaspel, superintendent, Fort Atkinson, Wis.


News about AASA members’ promotions, retirements, honors and deaths should be addressed to: Editor, School Administrator, 1615 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Fax: 703-841-1543. E-mail: magazine@aasa.org