(News release) – Three long-time principals will be leaving the St. Joseph School District at the end of the 2016 – 2017 school year: Lafayette High School Principal Dr. Tyran Sumy, Hyde Elementary Principal Jeaneen Boyer, and Oak Grove Elementary School Principal Mike Otto.

“All three principals are excellent educators and have made large contributions to their schools and the district,” said Superintendent Dr. Robert Newhart. “We are proud of the years they have put in. We will miss them greatly, and we wish them the best in their future endeavors. These will be hard shoes to fill.”

Dr. Tyran Sumy, Principal of Lafayette High School, will retire after 21 years with the district, 26 years as an administrator, and 33 years as an educator. Dr. Sumy also taught courses at William Woods University from 2007 to 2013.

Jeaneen Boyer, principal at Hyde Elementary, has been an educator for 31 years. She began teaching in Kansas City Kansas at Central Elementary, where she taught fourth grade, then came to Hosea Elementary in 1990, where she taught fourth and fifth grade. In 1995, she became the principal of Hall Elementary, and in 2004, she became the principal of Hyde Elementary.

Mike Otto, principal at Oak Grove Elementary, has been an educator for 31 years, beginning as a physical education and special education teacher in 1986. He taught in the Park Hill School District for seven years before becoming a principal there. He has been a principal for 17 years, ten years at Park Hill and seven years for the St. Joseph School District. Otto became principal of Coleman Elementary in 2010 moved to Oak Grove when the school opened in 2014. He was also a professor for seven years at Park University, and continues to teach adjunct classes at Ottawa University.

To view the news release on the retirements in full CLICK HERE