Mark Stewart charts a new direction at Sisters Middle School

When Sisters Middle School (SMS) principal Kathy Miner leaves on July 8 to begin her adventure as a middle school teacher in Paris, France, Mark Stewart will step into her position with a "new set of eyes" and the advantage of having worked with the output of SMS.

Stewart will be leaving his position as assistant principal at Sisters High School to take over the reins as the new leader of SMS.

"Kathy has been wonderful in bringing me up to speed, sharing her time and staff with me," Stewart told The Nugget. "I have been able to meet one-on-one with almost every staff member at SMS, and I feel very comfortable and prepared to step into that position."

Stewart said he isn't planning on immediate wholesale changes - but he does have some plans in mind.

"I want to go there to listen and understand and to absorb the culture - not to make major changes right off," he said.

Touching on a very positive experience that he had fine-tuning the corrective discipline process at the high school, Stewart has chosen a revamping of the SMS discipline policy as his first challenge.

"Working with Justin Nicklous, the part-time Dean of Students at SMS, we will be implementing a 'level' system for student infractions," he said. "While major infractions are currently handled swiftly, students can run up dozens of minor infractions with no real consequence. Our new 'level' system will be cumulative, with a cap."

Stewart noted, "I implemented the 'level' system at SHS (Sisters High School) with excellent results. One of the first behaviors we targeted was the consistently tardy student. We put a podium in front of the school and students arriving after the bell had to get a pass written by the administrator standing at that podium to get admitted to class. We slashed tardies by 50 percent, with students running to get to class before the bell rang to avoid having to visit the podium."

Stewart wants to set the bar high in terms of academic performance.

"I believe that high expectations get high results, and I want to make sure that students are beginning to learn to perform to that challenge in middle school," he said. "As an example, many kids that were taking AP classes at other schools before they transferred to SHS have had difficulty keeping up with their AP classes at SHS due to our high expectations and results."

However, he noted, "on the other hand, Oaks Tests, No Child Left Behind evaluations and the like do not tell the whole story. For the schools in Sisters it is not just about test scores, it is about the whole educational experience. There need to be programs not just for the college prep students but also for career, tech ed and vocational ed students as well. We need to be preparing our students for post-secondary education of whatever type they choose. Our academies program at SHS has done an excellent job of connecting academics to real-life applications. This in turn energizes the students to learn. I want to see that energy and 'connectedness' begin in middle school."

Mark and his wife and their two girls are that rare breed - Central Oregon native born. Mark and his wife were both born and raised in Prineville, and much of their family still lives there.

Stewart began his teaching career as a special education teacher in 1989 in Bend. He also spent time at Obsidian Middle School, teaching PE and health.

"In 2003 I was driving along, thinking about work when it hit me like a lightning bolt, to do what I want to do I need to get an administrative credential," he said.

Stewart received his administrative credential in 2004 and began at Sisters High School as assistant principal in the fall of 2005.