By Greg Fry

SD73 adds two new positions to its senior administration team

Apr 26, 2018 | 11:27 AM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops-Thompson School District has made a pair of new hires.

Rick Kienlein has been brought on as the district’s new Director of Instruction-Secondary Learning Services while Vessy Mochikas will assume the new role of District Principal-Inclusive Education.

The hires were confirmed by trustees at a special meeting Wednesday, says the district.

Both are no strangers to Kamloops as Kienlein is currently SD73’s District Principal of Human Resources while Mochikas is principal at Brock Middle School.

In her new role, Mochikas, who will start her new job in August, will focus on supporting the following initiatives:

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• Inclusive education programs and services,
• Diversity programs, including SOGI inclusive education, and
• Health-Promoting Schools, including after-school programs, mental health education, and physical health education.

As for Kienlein, he’ll start his job immediately and will work with the district’s senior leadership team to oversee:

• Implementation of the new graduation program,
• Continuation of programs to support improved graduation rates,
• Trades N Transition programs,
• Initiatives to proactively support and develop school cultures and safety, and
• Implementation of the newly approved Student Advisory Board.

According to the district, Mochikas has a Master of Arts in Leadership from Gonzaga University and has been principal at Brock Middle School since 2015. She has also served as the principal of Logan Lake Elementary/Secondary School.

Kienlein has a Master of Arts in Teaching and School Counselling from Gonzaga University. His background includes more than 26 years, in education including seving as the principal at South Kamloops Secondary, Sa-Hali Secondary School and Clearwater Secondary School.

District Superintendent Alison Sidow confirms these are new positions created by SD73 and follows a recommendation the district made to the Board of Education to create new positions at all levels of the education system.

“So, we have four new groundspeople who will be working to ensure we have enhanced snow clearance and that the maintenance of our fields is kept up. We also have 10 additional CEA’s to support students with special needs. We’ve added additonal teachers such as a numeracy coordinator.”

Sidow says the new jobs flow from the district’s new strategic plan which she notes “responds to the changing direction of the ministry and the needs of our community.”

“And we continue to be on average, I believe, $2.2 million less than districts our size in terms of administrative costs. So, all in all, our board agreed that this was a good use of dollars and that it would enhance educational outcomes for students.”