Two of the larger schools in the Morongo Unified School Districts will have new principals in the coming school year.
Filling the position of principal at Onaga Elementary will be 8-year Morongo Unified School District veteran Kristen Mery. She has been at Onaga for all those years, where she served as lead teacher, intervention teacher, and test coordinator. Assistant Superintendent for Human Services Doug Weller said that she was highly recommended by staff at the school, including departing principal Kyle Hannah. (Hannah has resigned from the District, to take a position with Hope Academy.)
The new principal of Twentynine Palms Junior High School is an outside hire, Stacy Smalling, who has been a principal for three years at an elementary school in San Bernardino. That school had a focus on environmental education, which, according to Weller, recommends Smalling as a good fit for Twentynine Palms Junior High School , which has an active STEM program. Smalling replaces Jolie Kelley, who will return to teaching English at La Contenta Middle School.
Both new principals will have the support of part-time assistant principals. The Twentynine Palms Junior High School assistant principal will be shared with Twentynine Palms Elementary, and the Onaga assistant will be shared with Yucca Valley Elementary. The hiring process for both assistant principals started on Wednesday.
