Principals depart Shelton schools

Three school principals resigned this month from the Shelton School District.

June 13 was the last day for Mario Juves, the principal at Oakland Bay Junior High School for two years. Today is the last day in the district for Stacey Anderson, the principal at CHOICE High School for 14 years, and Amber Argus, the principal at Evergreen Elementary School for two years.

All three resignations were approved as part of the consent agenda at the Shelton School Board’s meeting Tuesday evening.

Katie Diamond, communications specialist for the Shelton School District, said Targus has accepted a position with Educational Service District 113. Anderson has accepted a position with the Olympia Regional Learning Academy, she said.

Rachel Torazzi was named interim principal at Oakland Bay Junior High.

“We are currently in the process of recruiting to fill these positions,” Diamond wrote to the Journal. “The job market for principal positions is running high while the number of qualified candidates for school leadership positions is extremely low. We will provide families with an update as we approach the 2022-23 school year.”

In an email response to the Journal, Anderson — whose 26 years at CHOICE began as a teacher — wrote that she has accepted

the position of assistant principal at the Olympia Regional Learning Academy in the Olympia School District.

“While this has been an extremely hard decision, I decided it was time for me to challenge myself, step out of my comfort zone, and try something new,” she wrote.

Anderson added, “I am extremely grateful to the Shelton School District and to the students, staff and families of the CHOICE community for the opportunity I have had to be a CHOICE Cat for the past 26 years. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at CHOICE, from teaching outdoor education and skateboarding in my early years, to leading the school as principal the past 14 years. We have been through some incredible changes over those years, but we have always stayed focused on supporting our students to building their academic and personal skills to be ready for their future plans. I have learned so much from the CHOICE community, and I will stay in touch as once a Cat, always a Cat.”

The district’s schools are closed for the summer, and the Journal was unable to contact Argus and Juves.