East High graduate will preside over East

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Sonya Gordon, a 1991 East High graduate, will serve as East High’s new principal for the 2017-18 school year.

Gordon was selected Tuesday by CEO Krish Mohip out of three total candidates interested in being part of Youngstown City Schools District.

During a meet-and-greet event of the candidates in May, Gordon said there was just something about Youngstown she had to be a part of.

“I want to be a part of the change,” she said. “Overall, the goal is to ensure we’re preparing students not for where they are but for where they’re going.”

Gordon was a curriculum consultant for the Cuyahoga County Educational Center, a teacher in Akron Schools for 11 years. She served five years in Akron schools as an assistant principal and a principal of schools that struggled with low state test scores. She was part of the team that turned that around.

“Sonya is exactly what we need right now at East,” Mohip in a news release. “She has turnaround experience and extensive experience working in urban schools. The fact that she’s an East grad is just a bonus.”

Gordon’s annual salary for her East High principal position is $114,750. She will begin July 1, but she will be in the district frequently before then.

Her appointment follows a national search for new principals at both East and Chaney.

An announcement about the new Chaney principal is expected soon.