Lawrence Public Schools names interim principals for two elementary schools

Lawrence Public Schools moved to steady two elementary schools for the coming school year by naming Jeremy Philipp interim principal at Quail Run Elementary and Virginia Gwyn interim principal at New York Montessori.

The district said both schools will get full searches for permanent principals in the late fall, and that staff, families and the broader community will be part of that process. That puts a public step in front of any long-term appointment and gives Quail Run and New York Montessori leadership in place before fall classes start.

Philipp brings the deeper district history of the two interim leaders. He spent eight years as principal of Sunset Hill Elementary School before serving during the 2025-26 school year as assistant principal and athletic director at Southwest Middle School. His earlier work in Lawrence Public Schools also included jobs as a teacher, instructional coach and outdoor education director, and his background includes degrees from the University of Kansas, the University of Colorado Denver and the University of New Mexico.

At Quail Run, that experience lands at a school with a long local footprint. The elementary school was built in 1987 on 15 wooded acres in western Lawrence, serves about 480 students in grades K-5 and won a National Blue Ribbon award in 1999. For families there, an interim principal means the school will keep moving while the district decides who should lead it permanently.

New York Montessori is in a different phase of its own identity. Lawrence Public Schools describes it as Kansas’ first public Montessori school and says it serves preschool through grade 3. The Montessori program began a phased rollout in the 2022-23 school year at New York Elementary School, and district materials now call it Kansas’ first public Montessori Primary Program. Gwyn’s appointment gives that program a named leader while the district sorts out its longer-term plan.

The two elementary school appointments also fit a broader stretch of administrative turnover in Lawrence Public Schools. The district recently named interim leadership for Lawrence High School and early childhood programs, and in March Superintendent Jeanice Swift said the changes were part of an effort to streamline operations without adding administrative positions. For parents watching staffing and school culture heading into August, the district is signaling continuity now and permanence later.