The St. Joseph School District has announced Chris Early to take on the role as principal at Lafayette High School.

Early has been serving as Lafayette’s assistant principal since 2013. He will replace Dr. Tyran Sumy. Dr. Sumy announced her retirement earlier this year after more than 20 years with the district.

“This is bittersweet for me and I am sad to leave Lafayette, but I feel Mr. Early is very qualified for this position,” said Dr. Sumy. “He is the type of person who will take Lafayette to the next level.”

Early built his resume as a leader in education at Lafayette. His experience – which spans nearly 20 years – includes instructional coach, communication arts department chair and communications arts instructor. His teaching career began in the East Buchanan C-1 School District where he spent two years as a communication arts instructor.

Early has a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University, a K-12 Gifted Education Certification from the University of Missouri and a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education in English from Missouri Western State University. He is currently enrolled in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Doctoral Program through the University of Missouri/Northwest Missouri State University.

Early will begin his new role as Lafayette’s principal during the 2017-18 school year. His contract was approved during executive session at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, February 27, 2017.