Across Blue Valley’s six high schools, including the alternative school, four of them welcome new principals this fall.

The Post talked with each principal about what drives them, their goals, their qualifications and more. 

Brad Page (Blue Valley North)

Blue Valley North Principal Brad Page might be new to the role, but he’s not new to the school — he worked at BV North briefly in 2014. Though most recently, he worked as an assistant principal overseeing curriculum and instruction at Blue Valley High.

For him, this new role is his dream job. He gets to live and serve in the same community, and eventually, his children will come through BV North. 

“I really loved the student body here,” Page said, recalling his brief stint at BV North in 2014. “I think our student body is really diverse. I don’t think there’s anything like it.”

Page earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and history from Baker University, where he also received a master’s degree in adaptive special education. He has another master’s degree in building leadership from Emporia State University.

Currently, he’s working on his doctorate of education from Rockhurst University.

While Page is settling into his new role, he said it’s important to observe before making any adjustments.

“[The goal in] year one is to seek to understand before being understood,” Page said. “There’s so many things that I don’t know what we do well here. If I were to come in and try to change things without really understanding what we do and why we do it, I think that would be a pretty significant misstep. This is the number one ranked public school in the state. It’s for a reason, and it’s because of how hard our teachers and our students work.”

Tyler Alexander (Blue Valley Northwest)

While Blue Valley Northwest Principal Tyler Alexander might be new to this role at the school, he’s not new to the building nor the title. 

Alexander started his teaching career at Blue Valley Southwest, when the school opened in 2010. He moved to administrative roles at BV Northwest in 2015 before eventually moving back to BV Southwest in 2021 as its head principal. He served in that role until this year, when he came back to BV Northwest.

He said he wants to help students dig into the programs offered at BV Northwest — if school is fun for students, then they’re more likely to participate.

“I am a big believer in high school being fun,” Alexander said. “It is such a pivotal, exciting time. It can be an exciting time for students, especially at a school like Northwest. We have so many amazing programs.”

Alexander earned his bachelor’s degree in history and government secondary education from MidAmerica Nazarene University, his master’s degree in pre-K through 12th grade administration from Emporia State University and his doctorate of education from the University of Kansas.

Alexander said he first wants to observe the school, what it does well and then build from there.

“My biggest goal for the semester is just to kind of be part of what’s already been going on,” Alexander said, “be part of getting to know the students, get to know or learn about our new staff, see and feel the changes over the last five years. Obviously, you know, coming back full time after COVID, every building, every place reshaped a little bit for a variety of reasons.”

Anne Kastelic (Blue Valley Southwest)

Blue Valley Southwest Principal Anne Kastelic stepped up to the plate when Alexander moved to BV Northwest this year, though she’s not new to the district. While she started her career in the Shawnee Mission School District, she then came to teach at BV West and eventually worked her way to the administrative level. 

Her most recent role, which she held for four years, was as the assistant principal of curriculum and instruction at BV Southwest. But even before all that, her roots are deep in the district as a graduate of Blue Valley High.

“I always wanted to come back to where I grew up,” Kastelic said, “and work back in the same school district that I went to.”

Kastelic earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary math education from Kansas State University, a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Kansas and a doctorate of education in kindergarten through 12th grade educational leadership from Baker University.

For this year, Kastelic has her eye on two key areas to support throughout the year: the student experience, including academics, and supporting staff.

“One of our big goals is just the student experience and preparing kids for whatever their future looks like,” Kastelic said. “We know and understand that that’s both in and out of the classroom. Another one of our big goals is just focusing on our staff, because without a happy, involved, supported staff, we can’t do all of those things for students.”

David Sharp (Blue Valley Academy)

Blue Valley Academy Principal David Sharp knew he wanted to teach, but college wasn’t accessible immediately after high school — so he enlisted in the Army. After serving, he used the G.I. Bill, which helps veterans with school and other expenses while preparing for work after the military, to go to college.

“I had a lot of teachers that were very influential with me as a young person,” Sharp said. “Growing up, I needed a lot of support in certain ways, and they were there to provide that for me, whether it be an academic instructor or it be a coach.

“Since I really enjoyed helping people, and I was really so moved by a lot of the people that had helped me as a young person,” he continued. “I had a couple of coaches that were really great, and a couple of teachers that were really great. So then I thought, why not try to give back [like] those that helped me?”

Sharp earned his bachelor’s degree in education and criminal justice from the University of Central Missouri, his master’s degree in education administration, urban education and leadership from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and his doctorate of education from Baker University.

Student achievement is more than good test scores, its attendance and graduation — all of which are on Sharp’s radar.

“I want kids to graduate,” Sharp said. “Student attendance is key. A lot of times, kids become disenfranchised with school itself. We want to try to get them here, and then we want to try to make their day and tailor make their program to where they wanna be here. … Student connectedness is another one, a big goal of mine. I want them to connect.”