41 applicants vied for the position
By Hayden Seder
Blaine County School District has approved Superintendent Dr. GwenCarol Holmes’ selection for Hailey Elementary School principal, Toni Boush—a 28-year educator with elementary and middle school experience as well as international experience as principal of schools in Asia and South America.
Of the 41 applicants for the job of Hailey Elementary principal, Boush stood out to Dr. Holmes for her work in mountain resorts as well as past principal and elementary experience. Boush worked for nine years as the middle school principal in Minturn, Colo., a part of the Eagle County School District, as well as assistant principal for two years in Roaring Fork, the school district around Aspen, Colo.
“She was looking to get back to the mountains,” Holmes said. “When I get ready to hire a principal, I start by meeting with staff and parents and having a conversation with them about what they’ve accomplished at their school, what the next steps for the school should be and what kind of person it will take for those next steps.”
In addition to her experience in the Mountain West, Boush has gotten worldly experience during her career. She was the elementary school principal at Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok, Thailand, for six years, and for the last three years has served as principal at the American School of Brasilia, in Brazil.
With so many candidates for the job, a certain set of criteria was important, including principal experience, elementary experience and an ability to establish relationships.
“All of Toni’s references spoke to her strength in establishing relationships,” Holmes said. “One of the things Hailey Elementary is good at is being inclusive; they have a lot of subgroups of students with various needs and that’s something Toni is known for being very passionate about—including all students.”
Boush’s qualifications also include improving student achievement, developing and strengthening early childhood programs, providing professional development based on student data and standards, providing strong support for English language learners, improving elementary literacy and incorporating outdoor programs into the learning at school.
Now that Boush has been confirmed, she will begin her job this fall at Hailey Elementary. As a newcomer to both the school and the area, Holmes predicts that Boush will spend her initial time in her new position learning about the school, the staff, the parents and the kids.
“In both the parent ‘meet and greet’ and staff ‘meet and greet’ that Toni did as part of the application process, she talked about the fact that Hailey Elementary School likes to call itself ‘the heart of Hailey,’” Holmes said. “She said she wants to know more about what that means, what that sounds like and what that looks like.”
Boush is still currently working in Brazil and was unavailable for an interview by press deadline Tuesday.