Outgoing Yelm Community Schools Superintendent Alan Burke

"Yelm Community Schools will promote assistant superintendent Andy Wolf to head the district, after superintendent Alan Burke announced his plan to take a state schools job.

Burke, who has been at the district for 18 years, will be in a leadership position in the incoming administration of Randy Dorn, who was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction last month. Burke’s resignation from Yelm is effective Jan. 30.

The Yelm board will decide on Wolf’s contract at a special meeting scheduled for today.

The board picked Wolf without posting the position or considering other candidates.

'We would not turn down Andy Wolf,' said board vice president Ed Sorger. 'We couldn’t find a more committed person. When you’ve got that in your own backyard, why waste taxpayer dollars, when we as a board are elected to make those kinds of decisions? '

Wolf, a graduate of Yelm High School who returned to the Yelm district as a principal at Fort Stevens Elementary School six years ago, credited Burke’s work with the district.

'I have been fortunate enough to have a great mentor,' Wolf said. 'We have a great team out here. He’s put together a great team.'

Burke’s job title with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is unknown because Dorn and his transition team will reorganize the office, said Dorn’s transition team leader Robert Harkins.

Burke, who has known Dorn for 30 years, said he expects that he will work on matters of instruction, but he does not know whether the future of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning would fall under his supervision.

Dorn is a critic of Washington’s standardized test, saying that the multi-day test needs to be simplified and is unfair. His criticism of the test was a major part of his campaign platform against incumbent state Superintendent Terry Bergeson.

Burke said that he “absolutely” agrees with Dorn about the WASL," quoting the December 22nd Olympian.

THE YELM COMMUNITY BLOG WISHES ALAN BURKE WELL IN HIS NEW ENDEAVORS AND SAYS ALL OF THE BEST TO ANDY WOLF IN HIS NEW POST!

UPDATE
From the NVN of December 26th:
"State budget cuts will hurt schools
Yelm facing staff layoffs"