We are excited to announce two administrative changes for the 24/25 school year approved last evening at our regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting.
Assistant Superintendent of Operations:
Coming back to Union, we are pleased to share Dr. Dan Kania has been hired as our new Assistant Superintendent of Operations for the 24/25 school year. Dr. Kania has been a middle school assistant principal for five years (Waynesville Middle School), a high school associate principal for two years (Union High School), and most recently, the high school principal at Pacific High School for the past six years. Dr. Kania received his doctoral degree from Lindenwood University to go with his 13 years of administrative experience.
As a member of the Central Office team, Dr. Kania will oversee and assist with district operations and our secondary schools. District operations include: facilities, custodial, maintenance, transportation, food service and school safety. As the supervisor of secondary schools, Dr. Kania will support and assist both Union High School and Union Middle School.
Dr. Kania has four children who all attend #unionrxi schools. Additionally, his wife, Emily Kania, is a special education paraprofessional at Beaufort Elementary. As a current member of the Union community and a former team member, we are excited to welcome Dr. Kania back as a Wildcat!
‘I am extremely excited for this opportunity and looking forward to serving the Union R-XI community. It’s great to be a Wildcat again!’ ~ Dan Kania, 24/25 Assistant Superintendent of Operations
This vacancy is a result of Dr. Mike Mabe (current Deputy Superintendent) moving into the Superintendent role for the 24/25 school year.
Prairie Dell Elementary Principal:
Next we are pleased to announce Mr. Ryan Klein, current assistant principal at Central Elementary, has been hired as the new Principal at Prairie Dell Elementary for the 24/25 school year. Mr. Klein has spent a majority of his professional career in Iowa. Mr. Klein was a dean of students for two years, a middle school assistant principal for two years, a high school assistant principal for two years, an elementary principal for three years, and most recently, the assistant principal at Central Elementary for the past three years.
Mr. Klein received his Specialist Degree from Northwest Missouri State to round out his 12 years of administrative experience. Additionally, Mr. Klein has four years special education teaching experience and brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in ensuring we meet the needs of each student.
Mr. Klein lives in Washington, MO, with his wife and two young children.
‘I am honored to be able to join and lead the PDE team and continue to build on what has already been built by their caring and dedicated staff. A huge thank you goes out to the Central Elementary family for welcoming me to their team three years ago. I am sad to leave Central Elementary and excited for what is to come at Prairie Dell.’ ~ Ryan Klein, 24/25 PDE Principal
This vacancy is a result of Dr. Aaron Burd (current principal at Prairie Dell Elementary) taking another position outside the district for the 24/25 school year. We plan to post Mr. Klein’s assistant principal vacancy soon and have an anticipated hire date at our regularly scheduled February Board of Education meeting.
Both Dr. Kania and Mr. Klein will officially begin their new positions on July 1, 2024. Congratulations Dr. Kania and Mr. Klein!
#Uproud