Amanda Faunce named principal of Lawrence College and Career Center

Lawrence Public Schools chose Amanda Faunce to lead one of its most important pathways to work and postsecondary training, putting a Free State High School administrator in charge of the Lawrence College and Career Center effective July 1. The move comes as the district tries to tighten the link between classroom learning, career and technical education, and the next step after graduation for students across Douglas County.

Faunce has served as associate principal at Free State High School since 2022, after four years as the school’s athletic director. Before coming to Lawrence, she taught social science and worked in administrative roles in Olathe. District leaders said her background in academics, student life and school operations fits a campus that serves students with different goals, including credit recovery, adult education and diploma completion.

Superintendent Jeanice Swift said the district wants to realign and invigorate career and technical education programming at the College and Career Center and across district campuses. That matters for families deciding whether the center is simply another school building or a direct route into careers, certifications and postsecondary planning. The College and Career Center is also the home of the Lawrence College & Career Academy, a district program offered through both Lawrence High School and Lawrence Free State High School.

USD 497 says the academy prepares students for self-sustainability through academic, career, social and emotional skills that lead to high school graduation, career-path employment and a wide range of postsecondary education opportunities. Students must apply, interview face to face and have at least two adult mentors supporting them. The district also requires 23 credits for graduation, and says some career-preparation courses can satisfy academic or core requirements.

The center itself is more than a symbolic title on a door. Its campus at 2910 Haskell Avenue in Lawrence has 37 staff members listed in the district directory, underscoring the scale of the operation behind the academy and other programs. That staffing footprint reflects the range of students the center serves, from teenagers building job skills to adults finishing diplomas.

Faunce’s appointment also follows a leadership reshuffle at the same campus. Mark Preut was announced as principal in 2024, then later moved into a broader student support pathways role in March 2026, with direct leadership over the academy, adult education, diploma completion, incarcerated students, credit recovery and attendance and truancy interventions. In that context, Faunce inherits a campus central to how Lawrence Public Schools connects alternative pathways with workforce needs and student success.

The district has also been highlighting career education more visibly, including Lawrence High School’s annual Career & Technical Education Innovation Expo on April 16. Together with the academy and the center, the new leadership signals that USD 497 is treating career training not as a side program, but as a core route to graduation, employment and further education for Lawrence students.