Principals hired at 3 Petaluma schools

The Petaluma City Schools District has hired three principals to fill high profile vacancies at two high schools and a junior high.

Starting next school year, Justin Mori will be the new principal at Petaluma High School, Dan Ostermann will take over at Casa Grande High School and Kelly Kriss will be the principal at Petaluma Junior High School.

“We needed three quality candidates and we got three quality principals,” said Gary Callahan, district superintendent. “The most important trait, we were looking for individuals who are relationship builders. We found that.”

Mori, the principal at Sonoma Valley High School for the past year, is a graduate of Petaluma High. He earned a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in education leadership from Chapman University.

After six years in a district in southern California, he worked in the San Rafael school district for six years and Novato schools for six years.

“This is a unique opportunity to return home to the school I graduated from,” said Mori, 43. “When the opportunity came up, I realized I couldn’t pass on it.”

Mori takes over for David Stirrat, who is leaving after six years to pursue a Ph.D. Kriss, a Petaluma High School assistant principal, is taking the reins at Petaluma Junior High from Renee Semik, who is going to the Forestville school district. Ostermann, the assistant principal at Casa Grande, will move up to the head office as Principal Eric Backman moves to Anchorage, Alaska.

Ostermann came to Casa Grande three years ago from Los Angeles, where he taught and developed music programs while earning a doctorate of education from USC. Originally from Oregon, Ostermann did his undergraduate work at California Institute of the Arts, majoring in jazz trombone and composition. He spent 10 years as a working musician, performing and recording in Los Angeles.

He said he is most proud of the culture he has been able to instill at Casa Grande, the largest school in Petaluma. He started a performing and visual arts lunchtime program and a campus beautification project as assistant principal.

“When you walk on the Casa Grande campus, you notice the feeling of it being a very inviting, engaging place,” said Ostermann, 41. “I’m truly honored to work with the Casa community and the Petaluma community at large. It’s the community that makes the school strong.”

Kriss was unavailable for an interview this week. She has been at Petaluma High School for the past year, coming from Paradise, where she worked as an assistant principal and art teacher for five years, according to her resume. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine art from Western Washington University, and a master’s of business administration from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Callahan said that he hired Ostermann and Kriss as assistant principals with the intention that they would become heads of schools some day.

“We were looking to develop both, and they fit that bill,” he said. “I knew they would be really viable candidates.”

The three principals will formally start on July 1.

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)