Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Yelm Community Schools (YCS) Superintendent Chris Woods had a busy evening on Thursday, March 26, during a YCS Board of Directors meeting, as he announced two principal job openings in the district and honored three of the school board’s student representatives for various achievements.
According to Woods, Starla Watson, Lackamas Elementary School principal, will be moving to North Carolina with her family. Additionally, Ridgeline Middle School Principal Craig Curry’s resignation was announced during the meeting.
“We are, unfortunately, losing two fantastic administrators at the principal level,” Woods said. “DeeDee and I went out to Lackamas yesterday and we talked to the staff about the process. The way we set it up is there’s many components to the process so everyone in the building can be involved in one way or another. Everything from a screening committee to an interview team, to a couple people who give a tour to the applicants around the building, to anyone, on the staff, participate in a verbal resume portion.”
He added that there will be a portion of the interview where applicants for the position can interview students at the school, and Lackamas staff members can help facilitate that.
According to Woods, the position was posted on Thursday, March 26, and finalist interviews will be conducted on Monday, April 27.
The superintendent also met with RMS on Thursday, March 26.
“We gave them the same explanation and process,” Woods said. “That will also go through on the 27th — the same day we do finalist interviews for those positions. We really encourage the staff in those buildings to participate, to be involved and be part of the process so they can have a voice in who the next leader is for those buildings.”
While on the topic of staffing, Woods said the district intends on finding out how many YCS staff intend on returning to the district for work for the 2026-27 school year. A questionnaire was sent to each staff member asking their intentions.
“As we’re looking at a reduction in force (RIF), obviously, we look at vacated positions first,” Woods said. “We want to take advantage of those, rather than positions that have staff members in them. We’re assessing right now, what does staffing look like?”
The superintendent also recognized three of the school board’s student reps, Sofie Miera, Cali Stein and Kailey Slevin. He said there’s a lot of talented students throughout the district, including the student reps.
He first recognized Miera and Stein for the Yelm High School advanced sports medicine program’s performance at the AACI Regional competition in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, March 14. As a team, the Tornados placed first overall in the medium schools division.
“I wanted to take a moment, to number one, say congratulations. I know you guys put in a lot of time. I came in one morning at 6:30 a.m. to see them practice and get ready for competition,” Woods said. “They didn’t sleep much leading up to the competition. It really is impressive to see them prepare. I know they’ve put in a lot of time outside of the school day.”
According to Miera, the team’s time in California was a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.
“Like you said, there was a lot of preparation going into it. There was a lot of panic and uncertainty,” Miera said. “I’m pretty confident in my skillset with sports medicine, but California is on a whole different caliber. You’re going to a different state and you’re not sure how the state prepares their tests and how they’ll test you.”
Her teammate and classmate, Stein, commended Miera for her performance and leadership in California. In addition to helping her team secure a first place finish, Miera also earned the status of AACI’s 2026 High School Sports Medicine Student of the Year award.
“Sofie took the words right out of my mouth. We had a lot of fun, especially with the first two days of recreational activities,” Stein said. “Competition wise, I’d say that Sofie was the motivator. I went in after our anatomage tournament not very confident. We missed two questions. I was confident that we weren’t making the top four, but I was wrong. We placed fourth out of the teams that went.”
Woods also recognized student rep Kailey Slevin, who recently signed her letter of intent to compete at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs as a runner.
“I want to recognize Kailey. She signed her letter of intent,” Woods said. “She’s going to be going to Colorado next year to run, which is no surprise to anyone. I want you to know how proud we are of you and the work that you’ve put in.”
Slevin said she’ll be majoring in entrepreneurship and getting a certificate in animal behavior during her time at the university.
“For running, I’m super excited. It’s a Division II school, and I believe they compete at the national level every single year. They’re competitive,” Slevin said. “I’m so thankful to be part of a wonderful school like Yelm, which has gotten me to the place I’m at — to be able to go and compete at a Division II school at a national level.”
