Kelsey Tobin

Westside Elementary School students might notice a different face in the front office come Aug. 21 as they run inside at the first bell of the school year.

Kelsey Tobin will be stepping into the shoes of former principal Angie Woyak, who left at the end of the 2024-2025 school year to become a superintendent in Wisconsin. Tobin’s hiring was unanimously approved by the school board during a May 27 meeting. 

A former teacher at Westside, Tobin says a functioning school is all about systems and relationships.

Relationships allow the ability to work with people and influence change, Tobin said, then systems play into things like school improvement plans, Professional Learning Communities and “having that coherence that leads from the district to the school, to the teams, to the individual. Because if everything’s aligned and moving in the same direction then you’re going to get better results.”

Tobin has 12 years of experience under her belt, beginning as a first grade teacher at Westside before moving to fifth grade; she has also taken on kindergarten summer school and literacy coaching for the building.

“I think she is very well prepared and situated to pick up the torch laid down by an amazing principal that Angie Woyak was, and to carry that torch on in the quest to continuously improve our schools,” Superintendent Jay Curtis said. “I think Mrs. Tobin represents everything that we value in Park 1 and in Powell — she is an absolute master teacher, which provides her the skills to be a leader of teachers and an instructional leader in that school. She also just has a really dynamic personality. She’s going to, I think, really build bridges very quickly.”

Tobin always thought she’d be a teacher. Then, someone began nudging her about principalship and eventually she began to come around. When the leadership position at Westside opened “I saw the opportunity to have a greater impact, and the possibility to be able to continue and influence the work that’s going on in my building was kind of what led me there.”

Tobin’s excited to take up the mantle and having been a part of the school’s culture, she has a good idea of the work that went into bringing the school to where it is now.

“I also feel like having the relationships with the staff and the students and the families, it makes for a much easier transition into a role like this,” Tobin said, “Not everything’s so new.”

Coming from the classroom is one of Tobin’s strengths.

“When you’re looking you still have that teacher perspective, you’re really thinking about that,” she said.

Additionally, having relationships with families is huge. Westside is fortunate to have a great staff, students and their families, Tobin added. 

They’ve been putting in the work at Westside with leadership and grade level teams, Tobin said. “I have an idea of the direction we’re headed and how we’re going to fine tune things,” she added. “We’re not looking to change anything drastically but just refine and fine tune as we continue in the coming year.”

The big focus is continuing to build a foundation with the school’s Professional Learning Community practices (the heart of what they do) as well as relationships and communication.

The most important aspect of student and staff relationships is getting to know their strengths as well as what drives and inspires them.

“Our mission is growing and inspiring the knowledge of all learners — so it’s fitting,” Tobin said.