Jennifer Johnke is ready to further her career at home at Yankton High School (YHS).

“I taught math at YHS for nine years, before I moved into my current position as YHS assistant principal,” she said. “I know that YHS is a great place to work and when the opportunity came up for the principal position, I decided I wanted to apply for it.”

After four finalists were interviewed for the YHS principal position in May, board members said Johnke stood out as the candidate they wanted to hire.

A few weeks later it was announced that she would take over for Wayne Kindle as YHS’ new principal for the 2013-14 school term.

Johnke had been the assistant principal at YHS for the last three years and had also previously served as a dance coach for eight years.

She said her new role as principal will have a lot more facets to it compared to her current position as assistant principal.

“My main duties as assistant principal have primarily been discipline and attendance,” Johnke said. “The principal of the school oversees everything that happens in the building, so there is a lot more responsibility that comes with the new position.”

She added that she is excited to get started and work with students, teachers, parents and community members.

“I enjoy those relationships I’ve built throughout my time here in Yankton so far,” Johnke said. “However, there is a lot we need to get done this summer. We will have to hire a new assistant principal and then I will continue to work with Dr. Kindle to assure a smooth transition. He’s been a great mentor for me thus far, and I know he will continue to be that.”

YSD board member Jim Fitzgerald said Johnke has been committed to the educational process of students for many years.

“She cares about student achievement across the district,” he said. “Jennifer has also recently received her doctorate in the field, which is an indication of wanting to advance, not only for her, but also for the district and students of Yankton.”

Fitzgerald said that there were other good candidates that applied for the principal position, but few had experience with the size of school that YHS is.

“Dr. Johnke has had first-hand knowledge of what it is going to take to continue the high achievement standards that we expect in Yankton,” he said. “Her time as assistant principal will be quite valuable and she will be able to hit the road running, so to speak.”

Kindle said officials in the district are pleased to have someone who has past experience working with high school students.

“Not only that, she has also taught at a high school and has administrative experience at the high school level,” he said. “Johnke will continue to do well in her new role as principal. She is a good communicator, understands curriculum and will bring some new ideas of her own to YHS.”

Kindle noted that Johnke knows there are challenges ahead in the areas of technology with state-mandated online testing, possible changes to the teacher and administrator evaluation system, and on going funding concerns which have an impact on curriculum and staffing.

“I am looking forward to working with Jennifer and providing as much mentoring as needed to help her be successful and continue our excellence of academics, fine arts and activities for our students at YHS,” he said.

School board president Chris Specht said he’s confident in Johnke’s ability to step up as YHS principal.

“In my experience with her, she has been very student-centered and an excellent team member,” he said. “During her tenure in Yankton, Johnke has demonstrated effective teaching and administrative qualities and worked hard to obtain advanced degrees which qualify her from an education and experience perspective for this position. She, in my opinion, has the talents and personality to be an excellent high school principal.”

Johnke said her main goal as principal is to continue the tradition of excellence that YHS has.

“I’ll need to prepare for a lot of things we have coming down the pipeline … but overall, I want to continue the success that YHS has,” she said. “I really like the community of Yankton it has a lot to offer including education and recreational activities. There are also a lot of ways people can get involved within the community and there are great ways for kids to get active in the community through recreational and service programs. Overall, Yankton has a lot to offer.”

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