New Principal Announced for Jennings Lodge and Candy Lane

Superintendent Larry Didway announced that Crystal Laier will serve as interim principal at Jennings Lodge and Candy Lane Elementary Schools next year while the district recruits and hires a permanent principal. Javier Castaneda, the current principal, is relocating with his family to Idaho.

"I have confidence in Crystal's ability to provide positive leadership and facilitate the important community building that will be needed following the impact of reconfiguration." Didway said. Starting next fall, Jennings Lodge will serve Kindergarten through second grades and Candy Lane will serve third through fifth grades. Both schools will welcome several new families from King Elementary that closed this spring. The district's Spanish bilingual program is also located at Jennings Lodge and Candy Lane.

Two years ago, Laier saw an opportunity to join the Oregon City School District as a student manager at Candy Lane/Jennings Lodge and a Sheltered Instruction TOSA for the district. This past school year, she joined the Special Programs office and coordinated the ELL/Migrant services for the district.

Laier, who lives with her husband in Longview, Wash., began her career as a special education teacher in the Longview School District. Upon returning after time off to raise her family, she continued with the Longview School District where she developed and taught a high school special education class specifically for students with health impairments, then went on to teach language arts at the middle school level, as a literacy specialist and finally as an ELL coordinator.

"Whether in business or education, a spirit of collaboration is a key component for success," Laier said. "When working with students and staff I strive to build capacity in myself and others." When she isn't pursuing her professional passions, Laier enjoys spending time with her three granddaughters, shopping for antiques and traveling.