The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
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Deppner named CHS principal
She will replace Ron Mead starting in 2008-09 school year
By Edward Freundl, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 28, 2008
Julie Deppner, Chelsea High School's assistant principal since 2003, has been named to replace Ron Mead as the school's top administrator.
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"We felt she was ready to take the reins," Chelsea Schools Superintendent Dave Killips said Tuesday in making the announcement.
"Julie is an exceptional educational leader; her knowledge of the instructional process and curriculum is phenomenal."
The announcement simply confirmed what many, including Deppner herself, had suspected for months.
"It's been assumed for quite some time, but it didn't become official until today," Deppner said.
"I would definitely say I'm ready, and I plan to continue with the academic achievement that CHS has attained."
Deppner was hired as a high school math teacher in August 1995 and served as assistant principal at Beach Middle School before being named Mead's assistant principal in 2004.
Mead will retire at the end of this school year after 19 years as principal in Chelsea and 36 years as a teacher and school administrator.
"I've kind of known for three years I'd be retiring, so I've been giving Julie the responsibilities she'd need to take over," said Mead, who called Deppner "one of the best hires we've ever made."
†"She was a tremendous math teacher and an even better administrator. She has a great rapport with students and staff.
"She's a great person to fill the position."
Once Deppner takes over, Mike Kapolka will continue as assistant principal next year.
"He's done just a great job; they complement each other very well," Mead said.
Steve Olsen, vice president of the Chelsea Board of Education, agreed that Deppner was an excellent choice.
"Julie is very competent and has all the skills necessary to be a good high school principal," he said.
"I'm very proud of her, and I think the school district will be very happy with the job she does."
Assistant Superintendent Iva Corbett said she is glad Deppner chose to stay with Chelsea Schools as the next step in her career.
"I'm thrilled this opportunity arose in Chelsea; I was always afraid she would be offered an opportunity elsewhere and we'd lose her," Corbett said.
"She's creative, she instills enthusiasm in people, she can clearly articulate her vision.
"We can't do better — she's just going to be great."
Deppner said she felt "like I've been preparing for this for several years," but the momentum picked up last spring during an administrative shuffle that moved Andy Ingall to Director of Instructional Services and put Patrick Little in the principal's office at Beach Middle School.
"At that time I expressed my desire to stay at the high school because I knew Ron was planning on leaving," Deppner said.
Killips made the decision within the past few days, following prolonged consultation with the school board and other district officials.
Deppner was his first choice all along, he indicated, and said no other candidates were considered.
"By contract as superintendent, I have authority to place people in different positions, and I exercised that," Killips said.
Olsen said the school board is "very pleased" with Killips' decision.
"We leave it up to the superintendent to decide who he needs on his team," Olsen said.
"He told us this was the selection that he wanted to make, and we were very pleased he made that choice."
The superintendent noted that the district strives to provide long-term continuity and career development for teachers and administrators.
"We've been working on a plan to provide leadership opportunities to people, and we've given her the opportunity to lead several major projects," Killips said.
"We've been looking at the transition of people for a couple of years, because we knew Ron's retirement was on the horizon.
"There's no lack of qualified and quality administrators out there," he continued.
"We know we have some good people, so we've been proactive and we've invested in them."
Deppner said Mead has worked to prepare her for her new role, but he will still be in charge in his final semester.
"I don't really see anything changing between now and the end of the school year," she said.
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