August 10, 2015 at 4:39 p.m.

New associate principal settling in at RHS

New associate principal settling in at RHS
New associate principal settling in at RHS

The School District of Rhinelander has found a new associate principal for the high school. Shane Dornfield started in the position last week.

Dornfield is from Waupaca where he was the dean of students for the past three years, he said. Born and raised in Waupaca, he served as an at-risk teacher prior to taking the dean of students position. Dornfield said he is excited to join the staff at RHS and move to Rhinelander.

His two children will attend school in Rhinelander as well, he said.

"The Northwoods is a great place to be," he said. "I'm moving my family up here, and we'll be here for the long haul."

Dornfield sees his role in the first year at RHS as trying to meet as many community members, students and parents as possible.

"I see myself getting connected into the community and meeting students and parents," he said. "That's going to be my priority in the first year, getting them comfortable with me. I'm happy to be here."

The transition, thus far, has been seemless, he added.

"So far so good," Dornfield said of his first couple of days on the job. "People are very welcoming and I have nothing but good things to say about the staff and people I have met so far."

No major changes are in the works for this school year, according to David Ditzler, the school's principal and Dornfield's immediate supervisor

"There's been enough transition in the district," Ditzler said, referring to the changes in administration throughout the district.

Former Rhinelander High School Associate Principal Richard Gretzinger assumed the duties of principal at James Williams Middle School, along with Tim Howell.

"My goal is supporting Shane to get connected, to pick up where Mr. Gretzinger left off. The role of associate principal is pretty challenging because you are handling the attendance and truancy issues, you're handling a lot of the discipline issues. But at the same time, he and I are educational leaders. We set standards for the building," Ditzler said.

"We need to ensure that what we deliver instructionally is as high quality as we can demand and follow through with," Ditzler added.

"Helping Shane establish that priority of getting some of those things done, while focusing on the bigger things, that'll be a challenge for me to make sure I provide him the support to be balanced," Ditzler noted, "So I may be doing some of the discipline, which is fine, because heaven knows I've done that job for long enough that it's a natural part of what goes on here."

When school starts Sept. 1, "the bell's going to go off, and we're running," Ditzler said. "And there are a lot of things going on between now and then, with new teachers coming in."

Infinite Campus is the software the school will be using for scheduling purposes this year rather than Power School. Dornfield has a leg up because he already is familiar with Infinite Campus, Ditzler said.

"That's a plus for me," Ditzler said. "He will be helping me learn."

The school board decided to switch from Power School to Infinite Campus in February, Ditzler said, noting that another challenge the administration team faces is getting parents accustomed to the new software.

"I'm excited for Shane to join our staff," Ditzler said. "With Mr. Gretzinger and Mr. Howell at the middle school and Shane and myself here, I see us as a very strong four-person team for our two buildings."

Ditzler continued, "I know that I will get to learn a lot from Shane, and my role as a principal is also to be a mentor to help him become a principal someday."

"I'm just excited to start here. It's a new beginning for me," Dornfield said. "I'm going to meet a lot of new people. I'm excited to start the journey."

Katie Perttunen may be reached at [email protected].

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