Washougal High School will have two new associate principals next year, both coming from the Evergreen School District.
Mark Castle will oversee the new Excelsior program at Washougal High School, and Gary McGarvie will work as the athletic director. The hires were made official at the district’s board meeting Tuesday night.
Castle currently works as the dean of students at Evergreen High School, where he previously worked as a mathematics teacher for 11 years. He received his administrators credential through Washington State University Vancouver in 2016. Castle and his wife, a counselor with the Evergreen School District, live in Camas.
“I am really looking forward to working with the Excelsior program that is dedicated to an innovative approach to student learning,” he said in a release from the Washougal school district.
New building
Excelsior, an alternative high school, is getting a new building. The school currently houses around 55 students, and the new school, which will be roughly 10,400 square feet, will have room for about 90 students. The $4.8 million project is being funded through the $57.7 million capital improvement bond issue Washougal voters passed in 2015.
McGarvie is currently dean of students at Cascadia Technical Academy, and he previously worked as the athletic director and dean of students at Union High School. Like Castle, McGarvie was a math teacher and received his administrative certification from WSU Vancouver before moving into an administration role. McGarvie taught math for 10 years and received his certificate in 2012. He and his wife, a teacher in the Vancouver School District, live in Washougal and have a son in ninth grade at Washougal High School.
“I believe Washougal is going through an exciting time with all the growth that is happening,” he said in the release. “When my wife and I moved here in 2003, my dream was to work in Washougal. Although it has taken a few years to happen, I can’t wait to get started.”
