Janet Kellerman Named New Principal at Oakville High School

Janet Kellerman will take the reins as principal at Oakville High School in the 2011-2012 school year.

Kellerman, who has served as assistant prinicipal for the last 11 years, will replace William Scheffler, who is retiring after six years with the Mehlville School District. Mehlville's Board of Education announced the appointment at a recent meeting. 

Kellerman said one of her first orders of business will be to give students more of a voice in the school. She said Oakville has had student advisory groups in the years past, but that currently there is no real platform for them to speak out.

"If you have a strong student advisory that connects students with leadership groups, it will allow them to have a voice and that (leadership) will bleed over into the community," Kellerman said.

In her 10 plus years at Oakville, Kellerman said she has witnessed some major changes at the school and the district as a whole. Most notable, she said, are advancements in technology, the development of online curriculum and assessments and improved communications.

"When I first got here, no one talked," Kellerman said. "But the articulation has greatly improved. Now there is communication between teachers and staff in different buildings, which helps students in the transition to the next grade level."

Kellerman has more than 30 years of experience in education. Prior to joining Oakville, she was an assistant principal at Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, and also taught at both the junior and senior high schools there.

She said she is looking forward to her new role and hopes to continue working with staff, students and parents to move Oakville forward.

"It'll be a challenge, but it's exciting," she said.