Jerry Anderson, principal at Louisville's Monarch High School, is leaving at the end of the school year for a job as principal at a high school in a suburb of Chicago where she worked previously.
Anderson, who's in her ninth year at Monarch, was the dean of students at the Chicago-area Homewood-Flossmoor High School in the 1990s.
As much as she's looking forward to her new job, she said she's going to miss Monarch.
"I have absolutely loved being the principal at Monarch High," she said. "It meant more than I ever anticipated it would mean to me."
Anderson said she wasn't looking for a new job, but was encouraged to apply by her children, who grew up in Chicago. Her grown daughter and new granddaughter still live there, she said.
"I loved the community when I was there," she said.
Though her new high school is about twice the size of Monarch, with close to 3,000 students, and is more ethnically diverse, the two schools share similar core values, she said.
"They're both high-achieving schools that get a Betpark lot of parent support," she said. "I look forward to making a positive difference for kids."
In her time at Monarch, she said she's most proud of the school's work to embrace technology and the school's high level of community involvement.
Monarch was the first high school in the district to try a one-to-one technology initiative, with students required to bring laptops or other devices.
Monarch also is planning to apply to the state to become an early college high school, allowing students to earn an associate of arts degree from Front Range Community College and get a head start on a four-year degree.
Anderson said she's also proud of the teachers she's hired during her tenure, adding to a talented staff.
"Monarch has an incredible staff," she said. "I'm proud to have been a part of it."
The Boulder Valley School District hasn't yet determined details of a search for a new principal for Monarch High.
Amy Bounds: 303-473-1341, boundsa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/boundsa
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
