On Tuesday, April 19th, Cascade School District (CSD) was to announce the new Cascade High School (CHS) principal from one of its two finalists - Icicle River Middle School principal, James Swanson, or Haller Middle School (Arlington, WA) principal, Trever Summers. Instead, early on the 19th, an email was sent by CSD Superintendent, Tracey Beckendorf-Edou, to District staff announcing the interim appointment of CHS Assistant Principal, Rudy Joya, as principal for the 2022-23 school year.
According to Beckendorf-Edou's email, “[o]n Friday [April 15], one of the Cascade High School principal finalists unexpectedly withdrew from the hiring process. Considering the disruption of the process, the overall difficult school year with the disruptions due to COVID-19, and the best interests of students and staff in the district, the Cascade High School principal hiring committee decided to stop the process for the time being . . . [In addition,] the search committee was unable to reach a consensus for recommendation at this time.” No further details, as to the process, were provided by the District.
Joya, who did not apply for the opening at CHS when applications were being taken last winter, has been Assistant Principal at CHS for the last five years under Elia Ala’ilima-Daley, the latter of whom is leaving for an executive position in the Olympia School District. Prior to joining CHS, Joya was a dean of students and a math teacher at Wenatchee High School.
A resident of Cashmere and a native of Dryden who attended schools in the CSD for nine years, Joya said that he “immediately said yes” when Superintendent Beckendorf-Edou offered him the position last Monday. He wryly admitted, though, that he subsequently took the advice of Beckendorf-Edou's to “check with his wife and family first, all of whom turned out to be in agreement.”
Joya feels that because he knows CHS students and staff so well, and that the corner office, to which he will be moving on July 1, is currently occupied by his mentor, colleague and friend Elia Daley, his promotion “will be a comparatively smooth one,” requiring much less time for adaptation and acclimation than someone from without the school might need. “Mr. Daley has been a huge influence on me both professionally and personally,” related Joya. “He has shown me so much that I can take with me. More than anything else, he taught me to be myself – to be authentic - because without that, success always would be elusive and failure always around the corner.” To that end, Joya says that he will “take a lot that Daley taught me, but also make the job [his] own, with [his] own leadership style.”
Despite the breakdown of the CHS hiring endeavor, which began with more than a half dozen candidates, and which Beckendorf-Edou described as a “complicated process with many opportunities to get input from the district and high school communities, including screenings, interviews and forums,” she has confidence in Joya’s leadership and agreed that the coming transition should be smooth. In fact, Beckendorf-Edou stated “there is a possibility that Mr. Joya will be offered the chance to stay on, but we won’t know that for a year from now.”
Joya and Beckendorf-Edou share a similar vision for CHS, which the superintendent described as “a focus on what high school students will do after they cross the stage. Our job is not just to help them graduate, but to set them on a path toward success, whether that be college or technical school. We aim to help them create the future they want for themselves; Rudy and I will continue to be focused on ensuring that our students are prepared for the world, including the job market in our area.”
Joya stated that essential to his vision are “strong relationships between students and staff and staff and students to make sure we meet each kid where they are and give every student the opportunity to be prepared for college, should they choose that path. At the time, I didn’t plan for or think I was a good fit for college, but one person changed all that. They told me they saw that potential in me and that person’s belief in me changed me. The brains of kids mature over time. We see things differently over time and I want to make sure that all of our kids are as prepared as they can be to seize any opportunity they would like now and in the future.”
Joya continued by revealing that similarly to his views on college, he “had not always planned to be an administrator,” but that administration was suggested to him by two people he respected at different times. “So, [he] listened.” Joya intends to bring to the principal’s desk his “personal relationship, camaraderie and culture building style,” which he developed while a dean of students in Wenatchee, and as assistant principal at CHS since 2017. When asked if he would seek to retain the interim position permanently after next year, Joya enthusiastically answered “yes!”
That sentiment seems to have traction in the halls of CHS. Senior, and Associated Student Body Secretary, Olivia Cappellini, said that they were “pleased to hear that Mr. Joya was named to the position. He’s great, has the experience and, while I will be graduated, I’m happy for my brother who will be a sophomore next year.” Freshman Savanah Rowles echoed Cappellini, assessing that “Mr. Joya will definitely be a good fit. He gets on with all the students and knows what he is doing.”
Daley’s last day at CHS is June 30th; Joya takes the reins on July 1st. As to that passing of the guard, Beckendorf-Edou expressed what appears to be an all but universal feeling in the CHS community: “I’m going to miss Daley a lot, but I really enjoy working with Joya and know that CHS will be in good hands.”
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