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LAKE OSWEGO REVIEW SEPTEMBER 2013 4
Story by Jillian Daley | Photography by Vern Uyetake
Making the grade
Women About Town
Lakeridge and Lake Oswego high
schools each have had a female
principal, but this year marks the
first time a woman has been in
charge at both schools.
“These two individuals are both top
talents,” Lake Oswego School District Su-
perintendent Bill Korach said. “They’re
very good administrators, and we’re real
pleased that they’re both going to be at the
helm at our two high schools.”
LOHS Principal Cindy Schubert, 58,
settled in Lake Oswego in 2005, and
Lakeridge Principal Jennifer Schiele, 38,
moved to West Linn a decade ago.
Lake Oswego High School’s
principal
Cindy Schubert has logged thirteen
years as an administrator, beginning as
the assistant principal at LOHS in 2003
before taking on her new position this
year. She also served as vice principal at
Hood River Middle School from 2000 to
2003.
She earned a bachelor’s at Eastern Or-
egon University, a master’s at Portland
State University and two administrator’s
licenses from Portland State.
She attended three high schools, fin-
ishing at Union High School in Eastern
Oregon, which had 180 students in 2012-
13. While in high school, Schubert was a
song-leader, cheerleader, Associated Stu-
dent Body officer, and she also was in-
volved in drama, volleyball and track.
She is married to Glenn Elliott, athletic
director of La Salle Catholic College Pre-
paratory in Milwaukie, and her children
are: Curtis Peters, 36; Casey Peters, 34;
Chris Peters, 32; Cole Peters, 30; Shannon
Elliott, 17; and Shawn Elliott, 13. Schubert
also has three grandsons and is expecting
another in October.
Why did you become an educator? I ac-
tually decided to become an educator later
in life. I discovered that I enjoyed the inter-
actions I had working with young people
as a coach, and I appreciated seeing them
grow into future adults, so I pursued a ca-
reer in education. Working with people is
something I really enjoy, and education is
a great profession to get to know all types
of people — students, parents, teachers
and community members. There is never
a dull moment in education, and I enjoy
creating the conditions for other people’s
success.
What duties does the principal have at
your high school? Overseeing the overall
high school program. I pride myself as an
educator on making sure that teachers
have the resources they need to educate
our students, students have the support
they need to be successful and parents are
provided timely information so they can
play an appropriate role in their student’s
educational process.
In a couple of sentences, how would you
describe a typical day for you? I always go
into each day with a plan of what needs to
be accomplished,
but the flexibility
to adjust as need-
ed for whatever
comes up. In all
actuality, there
isn’t a typical day
in education as it
can change on a
moment’s notice.
Plus, depending
on the time of
year, you are focused on different goals.
What is the most important lesson
you have learned from your students?
Over time the most valuable thing I have
learned from students is that each one of
them has their own story and circum-
stances, and it is important to slow down
and listen to that story in order to best
support each situation and/or student.
What is the most important thing for
students to learn? There are basically
three things that come to mind: One, it is
OK to ask for help; two, high school is a
great time to explore your skills and tal-
ents even at the risk of failing; and three,
work to your potential so that you have
multiple options available following grad-
uation.
In what ways does being a parent help
you be a better administrator and edu-
cator? What helps me most about being a
parent is that I understand howmuch par-
ents care about their child. When I meet
with parents about specific issues, I real-
ize that even if the meeting escalates in a
negative manner, the parent is just want-
ing what is best for their child.
How is Lakeridge High different than
LOHS? I really don’t know what the
difference is as I have only been at LO.
I do know that we both have a culture
that promotes a rigorous curriculum, has
supportive parents/community, amaz-
ing teachers and support staff and most
importantly awesome students. I think
at both schools our students love being
either a Laker or a Pacer, depending on
where they attend, and they are proud of
their high school, which is not the norm at
most high schools.
How do you think such a rivalry can neg-
atively affect both high schools, and how
does it help to have competition? I be-
lieve a negative rivalry gets started when
we start focusing on what the other school
has that we don’t have. Consequently, we
are always comparing ourselves to that
school rather than focusing on the great
things we have and what we need to im-
prove on as a school based on our own
unique culture.
I think a healthy rivalry is good. For
example, I enjoy seeing our students com-
pete in an athletic contest, band/choir/or-
chestra competition, speech and debate,
or even a mock trial event that is focused
on winning. What I think is a healthy ri-
valry is when the event is over, and you
see our students going out and hugging
and/or talking to the “rival” school’s stu-
dents and making plans to get together.
That is a healthy rivalry.
What challenges lie ahead for your
school? Our challenge lies in making sure
we use our increasingly limited resources
in the best possible way so that our stu-
dents continue to receive a valuable edu-
cation. I also believe this is an important
time to make sure that we have resources
for students who need extra support along
the way. It feels as though we are giving
our all to educating our students, but the
demands keep rising on what is expected
of us. This is probably the biggest chal-
lenge.
How will you address these challenges?
I will work closely with my staff, district
office and our community to provide our
students with a great education despite de-
clining financial support. The one thing I
have appreciated about our district is that
it looks strategically towards the future
High school principals Jennifer Schiele and Cindy Schubert believe both their schools offer students environments in which they can thrive.
Cindy Schubert
Continued on Page 4 >>
Common goals and challenges in 2013-14 for Lake Oswego’s two high school principals