Piver chosen as vice principal

Margo Piver, from the Walla Walla School District, will be the assistant principal at Lake Roosevelt Elementary School.

The Grand Coulee Dam School District board decided May 23 to hire Piver, who has had extensive experience in special education, as well as in early childhood and behavior support, according to school district sources.

She will take over her new duties for the 2016-17 school year. Piver replaces Nate Piturachsatit in that position.

Piver earned her bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Walla Walla College and her master's degree in special education from the same school. Her principal certification was earned from Gonzaga University.

Piver taught in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, for a year and has been in the Walla Walla School District since the 1994-95 school year.

She is currently president of the local Washington Education Association there and also a board member of the WEA and on its executive council.

While growing up, Piver spent a number of her school years in Germany, and German has become a second language for her.

The school board also accepted the retirement request of longtime teacher Rhonda Erickson.

Erickson has spent her entire teaching career, 37 years, in the Grand Coulee Dam School District. She taught fourth grade.

In other action, the board accepted the resignations of two additional teachers: Stephanie Baldwin, from the fifth grade; and Ashley Bueckers, from the second grade. Randy Friedlander gave his resignation notice as assistant boys' basketball coach at Lake Roosevelt High School.

New hires include Renee Smith, for a teaching assignment yet to be made at Lake Roosevelt Elementary; Chance Hill, Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High social studies teacher; Sally Rowan, LRE kindergarten teacher; and Megan Van Geystel for a four-hour-a-day administrative assistant position.

The board also approved continuing positions of classified staff, certificated staff, non-represented staff, coaching staff and supplemental contracts.