Retirements, an educational center being created to innovate in the space of career-focused learning, and a push to give elementary schools more administrative support have given rise to seven new administrative appointments approved by the Canyons Board of Education.

Canyons District has hired Reid Newey, a seasoned administrator with expertise in Career and Technical Education and a senior fellow at Utah State University’s School of the Future, to serve as the director of the District’s new innovation center.

Newey, whose appointment is effective in March, will lead the programming and design of the innovation center, and eventually its operations. To be located at the former regional headquarters of eBay in Draper, the school will be open to all of Canyons District’s high school students and focused on preparing them for the fast-evolving 21^st century workplace. 

Currently the Director of Syracuse Arts Academy, a public charter school with three campuses in Syracuse, Utah, Newey has 35 years of experience in public education. He served as the Career and Technical Education Director, Director of Secondary Schools, and Assistant Superintendent for Weber School District. As Superintendent of Davis School District from 2016 to 2022, he led the development of the Catalyst Center, a state-of-the-art career and technical education facility.

Effective with the start of the 2025-2026 contract year, are two internal hires:

• Ashley Lennox, an assistant principal at Sprucewood Elementary, will be promoted from to Sprucewood’s Principal. She is replacing Cathy Schino who is retiring at the end of the school year.

• Kimberly Ranney, an assistant principal at Crescent Elementary, will be promoted to Principal at Oak Hollow Elementary. She replaces Julie Mootz who is also retiring at the end of the school year.

Also approved for 2025-2026 were the following Assistant Principal hires. Each appointee’s school-specific assignment will be decided at future Board meetings as the Board weighs additional recommendations for administrative hires.

• Amber Tuckett, currently an assistant principal at Draper Park Middle
• Mike Larsen, currently the Dean of Students at Maple Mountain High School
• Anna Livingston, a second grade teacher and multi-lingual lead at Westvale Elementary in Jordan School District
• Sarah Thomas, an assistant principal at West High School in Salt Lake District