With the welcoming of new staff members, the 2022-2023 school year might look a little different for some students in Springfield.

Cherokee Middle School will be introducing Curt Ivey as their next principal, who has 5 years of experience as Jarret Middle School’s assistant principal. His current position at Jarret has refined his experience in supervision, evaluation, staff development, and student discipline. He is also coming from a background in teaching in both Branson and Belton. 

Hickory Hills will gain Becky Ash as their new principal, who has been the principal of Pipkin Middle School since 2016. Ash has experience in other aspects of education as well, having taught at the Wonders of the Ozarks Learning Facility (WOLF) for a few years, and at schools in nearby towns like Camdenton and Kirksville. 

At Pershing, Tommy Wells was hired to be the next principal and stands apart from the other hires as the only principal brand new to the Missouri public school districts. Wells will be coming from Hot Springs, Arkansas where he has been the Assistant Principal at Hot Springs World Class High School. He has experience in areas such as technical education, transportation coordination, student discipline, staff development, attendance and performance maintenance, athletic directorship, and coaching basketball and football. Similar to Becky Ash, he has previously held teaching positions on top of his principal career at local elementary schools in his area. 

Pipkin Middle School is welcoming Duane Cox to the principal position with the departure of Becky Ash. Cox, who has been the assistant principal at Pipkin for the past three years, will not have to travel far for his new job. However, his familiarity with the school will surely help him acclimate to the new role. Cox has experience in areas such as establishing positive relationships with students and connecting individuals with resources and comes from a teaching background at Willard Junior High. 

Mark Twain Elementary is welcoming Blaine Broderick as their new principal, who is coming from a background as a community liaison at McGregor Elementary. During his two years at McGregor, Brokerick developed experience in school and community partnerships, positive behavior implementation, social media/webpage managing, and being a liaison for a club called Encore and Explore. Before working at McGregor, he was at Nixa School District for 6 years.

Weaver Elementary will be gaining Cheryl Goetz as their new principal, who is coming from Boyd Elementary as a Title I learning coach. Cheryl is skilled in areas such as grade-level team development and school-wide professional development. She has prioritized teacher support throughout her career, and the improvement of instructional practices. She has also had teaching experience at various elementary schools across different Missouri districts. 

York Elementary will be introducing Shondra Fetter as principal to their team of staff. Fetter is the community liaison for Deleware Elementary, and before that has had teaching experience in a multitude of schools across the Springfield, Marshfield, and Chadwick districts. Fetter has principal experience as well, being the assistant principal at Mallory Elementary in Dallas, Texas for two years.