Orozco brings modern skill set
Kathryn Orozco
The Whitefish School District Board of
Trustees last week named Kathryn “Kate” Orozco as the next
superintendent of the school district. Orozco will replace current
superintendent Jerry House when he retires this summer after 11
years at the helm. Her contract officially starts on July 1.
“I’m very excited to get to Whitefish,”
Orozco said. “My experience there is limited, but I did have a
chance to meet a number of wonderful students, administrators and
parents.
“I’m very encouraged by their
commitment to the schools and the kids.”
She said her first responsibility as
superintendent will be to get to know the community and the people
who live here.
Pat Jarvi, chairwoman of the board,
said Orozco was chosen because of her extensive background in
curriculum and instruction.
“The most important thing a school
district does is teach kids,” Jarvi said. “In the 21st century,
everything is changing so fast. We have to prepare students to face
a future that isn’t so easy to predict.
“Our superintendent needs to be updated
on what an effective curriculum looks like in the 21 century. It’s
of vital importance.”
Jarvi noted that Orozco’s eagerness
impressed the board, too.
Orozco, 51, is currently an associate
superintendent with the North Platte Public Schools in North
Platte, Neb. She received her bachelors, masters and doctorate
degrees from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., and her
administrative degree from the University of Nebraska at
Kearney.
She spent six years in Spokane with the
Small Schools Project, a Seattle-based organization that offers
support and consulting to districts. She worked as an adjunct
professor with Gonzaga and spent 20 years as a teacher, mostly in
fifth- and sixth grade classrooms.
Orozco will earn $112,500 for a 260-day
contract. Benefits include standard holidays, sick and personal
leave and a $10,000 stipend in lieu of heath insurance.
Jarvi said the superintendent search
went well.
“The community and students were
involved,” Jarvi said. “I think the process was successful.”
McPherson & Jacobson served as
consultants in the search process and will continue working with
the Whitefish School District Board of Trustees and the new
superintendent during the 2011- 2012 school year.