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Thursday, July 24, 2008
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Familiar face at BHS will take charge Assistant principal Rusk moving up Staff Writer A familiar face will greet Brainerd High School students this fall as their new high school principal.
Superintendent Steve Razidlo announced Wednesday that Andrea Rusk, BHS assistant principal, has been hired to replace Erich Heise, who recently was granted a two-year unpaid leave of absence to become a high school principal at an international school in Brazil.
Razidlo said there were 27 applicants for the position, a surprisingly high number since the vacancy comes close to the start of the school year. Two separate teams, including administrators, teachers and a parent representative, narrowed the field to 10 candidates. The list was further narrowed down to five finalists who were selected after references were checked. The teams interviewed the top four finalists, including Rusk, on Tuesday. Other finalists were Ray Kurch, assistant principal/athletic director at Watertown-Mayer High School; Tom Doig, principal at New Prague High School; and Jeff Ehlenz, principal at Ogilvie High School. A fifth candidate withdrew from consideration days before the interviews were conducted.
Razidlo said both teams at the end of the day Tuesday came to a consensus that Rusk was the top choice for the job.
"We have a fantastic candidate, a fantastic person who can hit the ground running," Razidlo said of Rusk. "I have been consistently and significantly impressed with Andrea's work since the moment she arrived (in the district). She's smart and she's good. She's willing to attack challenges and collaborate toward solutions."
Rusk, 40, is a 1986 Milaca High School graduate who spent 14 years as a social studies teacher there before she was hired by the Brainerd district three years ago. She spent her first year here as a BHS dean of students and the past two years as assistant principal. She received her bachelor's degrees in secondary education and social studies from the University of St. Thomas and her master's degree in curriculum and instruction and K-12 educational licensure from Saint Mary's University.
Rusk and her husband, Jeff, have two sons, Tate, 17, and Jed, 13; and a daughter, Kennedy, 9, who all attend Brainerd schools.
"I'm ecstatic," Rusk said of her new job. "I feel really blessed to have this opportunity. I've been so fortunate in my three years here to be working at the high school. I think it's a great place. We just have a phenomenal staff and our student body is top-notch."
Rusk had already packed up and moved into an office at BHS South Campus this summer, which was planned as part of the shifting of administrative duties in the district as part of budget reductions, but she now plans to return to BHS North. However since the high school principal is now in charge of the more than 2,000 students in ninth-12th grades at the two buildings, she plans to have another office or office space at the South Campus too.
"I plan to be in both buildings," said Rusk. "It's really important to be part of the ninth-grade center and the 10th-12th-grade building in order to have a smooth transition. Going into this I thought it was critical that whoever was going to take this position that the person coming into this role have the pulse on both buildings. ... I have a lot of challenges facing me but we have an amazing staff. They've been so supportive of me and what we do for kids that I'm ready for those challenges, knowing I have good support."
Razidlo said the district will now have to hire a replacement for Rusk, to complete the four-member high school administrative team, but that decision won't be made until early August. The high school administrative team includes two deans of students, Josh Fordyce and John Jacobson.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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