Whittell High gets new principal

STATELINE -- Janie Gray, the assistant principal of Carson Valley Middle School for the past three years, has been named Whittell High School's new principal.

In a unanimous decision, the Douglas County School Board agreed Tuesday the educator would make a good fit for the school, which has about 240 students and 22 certified teachers.

Gray brings a strong knowledge of instructional principles and a background ground in high school guidance counseling.

"I think she has all the right ingredients for being at Whittell High School," Soderman said.

Gray replaces Mario Matto, who resigned in May to become a principal in Alaska.

Saying she is excited about the new job, Gray said her first goal is to see to it the school is well-prepared academically.

"I've had three years in Douglas County that has prepared me well for its competency-based system," she said. "Part of the system is to use measurements of student achievement. I and the faculty will be reworking these measures to determine targets for instructional improvements."

Gray has a master's degree in guidance and counseling. Her administrative certification and bachelor's degrees are in English and history. She has been an educator since 1967, working as a teacher in Texas until 1982.

She became a high school counselor in Waco, Texas, before becoming a high school assistant principal in 1995. In 2000, she moved to Gardnerville and became Carson Valley Middle School's assistant principal.

Gray's salary will be between $62,000 and $70,000.

Gray said it should be relatively easy to meet measures created in the new federal "No Child Left Behind" law. In fact, the district's academic standards are in line with the law, she said.

"The benefit of a competency-based system is that we are well down that road to accountability which is what 'No Child Left Behind' is all about," she said. "So I don't expect what we are doing to be much different; it will be more of a refinement of the existing system."