Donaldson retires after decades

Student name: Sydney Ball
Question: What are you planning to do during your day to day life when you retire?
Answer: “Recreational fly fishing, and I’m also doing part time work for a state department event.”
Student name: Demi Callahan
Question: What was one of your favorite things about your job?
Answer: “ Going to the different classes and building relationships with the kids, the energy in the classrooms. Graduations, rehearsals were always fun and getting to know the seniors,”
Student name: Ariana Flaig
Question: Through all the years you have worked at the school district, what is your proudest memory of working in the district? Why is this memory your proudest one?
Answer: “I guess the obvious one would be the night the bond was passed for the new high school. I have been through multiple attempts to have the bond passed and have seen the bond not be passed through multiple times. When the bond was passed it was passed at 76% in favor- something unheard of and extremely hard to do. This really showed a community sense of pride and unity.”
Student name: Maddie Gibson
Question: How has your past teaching/principal job and current superintendent job changed the way you go about challenges?
Answer: “To go about challenges I really engage people to see where they’re coming from, and try to understand the playing field. If I had a strength it would be putting people in places where they will be successful. True leadership isn’t putting yourself above all others, it’s making sure your team can be successful with you.”
Student name: Jacob Isom
Question: What changes in the school district do you hope to see in the future?
Answer: “I hope we’re in a position to really move the needle in academic performance, and with that; the opportunity for students to reach their aspirations and goals. If you create the environment for students to be successful and be actively invested in that, then their academics will benefit everyone in the long run.”
Student name: Alix Johnson
Question: Did you always want to be a Superintendent? If not, how did you get from that point of wanting to be something else to here?
Answer: “ After I finished my doctor work at the university of idaho i went to WSU for 3 years. I worked on a grant, and realized I was bored to death. I wanted to get back in the public schools. There was advertizing for an assistant principle in Jennifer and Sacajawea, and at first it was a parttime job, but it soon became a full time job. I really enjoyed it. I ended up going to Lewiston highschool, and it was one of my first jobs. Half of the students I had I’d already had at Sac and Jennifer, it made it a bit easier.”
Student name: Danica Keane
Question: What are going to miss from being a superintendent?
Answer: “Everyday I go into a school. But I’m going to miss this the most.”
Student name: Eli Martin
Question: have you ever worked for another school districts?
Answer: “yes, milwaukee public schools”
Student name: Ava Mohr
Question: Did you ever teach as a teacher and if you did, which subject(s) did you teach?
Answer: “I taught in special education, secondary, and social studies.”
Student name: Josie Sager
Question: What are you going to miss most about leaving the school district?
Answer: “i Might engage you and see you in the cafeteria and have interactions with you, i’ll miss the students.”
Student name: Jasmine Schmidt
Question: What was your dream job when you were growing up?
Answer: “I wasn’t the best high school student, then I went to community college and Penn State. I had worked at ranches in Wyoming in the summer and I guess my dream job would have been to do that, moving cattle hundreds of miles to other ranches. But then I got married and my wife told me I had to grow up.”