Bethesda Elementary School has a new principal.
The Waukesha School District has named Stella Miranda, the associate principal at Rufus King International School-High School Campus, to the post. Her hiring was announced at the school board meeting on Wednesday, July 13.
Miranda was described as a seasoned educator with 20 years of teaching experience with Milwaukee Public Schools. She has been Rufus King's associate principal for a year.
'She has a strong background in staff evaluation and development, curriculum and educational instruction,' School Board Member Patricia Madden said. 'She effectively leads student discipline and the learning climate.'
One of the qualifications that made Miranda stand out was her bilingual skills, as well as her effectiveness at working with diverse populations of students, parents and staff. Miranda is fluent in Spanish, an ability that was important to the district.
'Finding a leader with the bilingual talents she has, with the dual language program we have at Bethesda, (is) a nice find. What a great, great match,' School Board President Joesph Como said.
The search for Bethesda's new principal wasn't easy. The district began their search in early May and had a pool of 92 applicants, nine of which were chosen for in-person interviews. Miranda received high accolades from the interview team at Bethesda, according to Assistant Superintendent of HR and Labor Christine Hedstrom. The staff were unanimous in their choice.
'I do feel pretty lucky,' Hedstrom said. 'It took a long time, but I think that things happen for the best, and I have high hopes here.'
Miranda received her specialist in education degree from Capella University in Minneapolis, and earned her masters of education degree from National Louis University. She will begin as principal starting the 2016-2017 school year, taking the place of Melissa Yow, who was named the new director of elementary learning for the district.