Priest approved as new VWHS principal

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert City Board of Education chose Van Wert High School government teacher Bob Priest to replace Bill Clifton as VWHS principal during a special meeting held Monday.

Priest, a 1987 VWHS graduate, has been a teacher in the Van Wert City Schools since 2007, when he was hired to teach social studies at Van Wert Middle School. After a year in the middle school Priest moved to the high school, where he has taught Advanced Placement (AP) Government since 2011. Priest, who has 23 years of teaching experience, began his career at Findlay High School, where he taught for a year (1992-1993) before moving to Defiance High School for two years (1993-1995). While at Defiance, he was named Denison University “Teacher of the Year” in 1995.

Priest then taught for a year at the Northwest Ohio Educational Service Center in Bryan before spending a decade at Archbold High School (1997-2007), where he was named a Franklin B. Walter Scholarship Teacher of the Year in 1999 and 2003, and a 2005 Center for Civic Education Scholarship teacher.

While at Van Wert, Priest has earned the VWHS “Teachers Who Make a Difference” award twice (2012 and 2013) and the American Lawyers Alliance “National Teacher of the Year” award this year.

While at VWHS, Priest has developed a “We the People” U.S. Constitution program that has placed second in the state the past four years, and was similar to a program he created at Archbold that also did well in state competition. He also created moot court competition programs as well at Van Wert and Archbold that have been successful, with the Archbold program finishing in fifth place in the state in 2003 and fourth in 2005.

Priest has served on the VWHS building leadership team since 2012 and has been a member of the district leadership team since 2013.

He was head football coach for five years and also coached track for five years. He was also assistant athletic director while at Archbold High School.

Priest earned a bachelor’s degree from Ashland University in 1991 and a master’s degree from the University of Toledo in 2003. He earned his education specialist degree in 2005 from the University of Toledo and also has his principal certification.

VWHS social studies teacher Jeff Kallas will replace Priest as AP Government teacher, while Priest, as principal, will need to find a replacement for Kallas, hopefully before school begins next week.

Clifton, who was high school principal for nearly two decades, was recently moved to the newly created district administrative assistant’s position as part of an administrative reshuffling implemented by Superintendent Ken Amstutz.