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Scott Meyers and Kari Schwietering said they are proud of the work they accomplished in their first weeks as principal and assistant principal, respectively.

Meyers said his first month or so as principal was jam-packed, but in a good way.

“[The first month] has been busy, but it’s been a good busy, working with the counselors and teachers to get things off the ground,” Meyers said.

According to Meyers, a lot of that business stems from changes to the career and college readiness program and preparations for standardized testing.

“Anytime we are trying to make our students more career and college ready it’s a large undertaking,” Meyers said.

Meyers said in his first month he, along with other administrators, began figuring out the logistics for the this year’s standardized tests, such as the Northwestern Evaluation Association (NWEA) test.

Meyers additionally said he began arrangements for the ACT, which will be given to all juniors for the first time ever at park.

“This spring we will be doing an ACT for all [junior] students, which is new for a lot of high schools, so there are some coordinating efforts that we’ve been working on for that,” Meyers said.

Meyers said as principal, he assumes the role as site coordinator for testing. However, he said fulfilling this role requires collaboration.

“I work with a lot of people,” Meyers said. “It will be a combined effort for testing this year.”

According to Meyers, collaboration also takes place between himself and Schwietering. Meyers said he worked along side Schwietering as assistant principal, when she was director of students. Meyers said their roles are interdependent.

“The wonderful part is we’re working more in a complementary way this year,” Meyer said. “She’s done a wonderful job getting kind of the student culture and climate of the building off to a good start, in terms of dealing with student issues.”

Schwietering said in her first few months as assistant principal, she too felt working as a team led to success.

“Mr. Meyers and I have a great partnership,” Schwietering said. “I enjoy working with him because we have similar missions.”

Schwietering said one change she conducted in her first month as assistant principal involved improving the distribution of grade level coordinators (GLCs).

According to Schwietering, in past years three GLCs were responsible for all four grades, often switching around to where the most need existed. She said she worked to ensure the presence of four GLCs this year.

“Now GLCs are intervening with students based on grade,” Schwietering said.

Schwietering said she hopes to work with teachers in the upcoming year to encourage success.

“I want the teachers to feel supported and get them what they need,” Schwietering said.

Overall, Schwietering said she feels pleased with her first weeks on the job. She said she hopes she can work to make the year ahead a great one.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” Schwietering said. “My first month has gone very smoothly. I’m really proud, always, of Park.”