Houston principal new ed director for district

MAT-SU — Houston High’s principal will go from overseeing the educational needs of some 400 students to those of about 16,500. On Friday, Mike Vrvilo was named the new director of education for the Mat-Su Borough School District.

Vrvilo, 42, is part of the district team assembled by new MSBSD Superintendent Kenneth Burnley, Ph.D.

“I want to continue the strong academic leadership in the Department of Education,” Burnley said in a press release. “I believe that Mike Vrvilo fits that bill. In addition to being well liked, he has led his school in high student achievement and staff professional development.”

According to the press release, the MSBSD Department of Human Resources will post and fill the principal’s position at Houston High School as soon as possible.

Vrvilo has been in the Mat-Su Borough School District for 14 years: 12 years as HHS’s principal, one year as its assistant principal and one year teaching math and science at Colony Middle. Before coming to Mat-Su, he taught in the Copper River School District.

Vrvilo, whose name is pronounced “Vervalo,” said he has been actively trying to make difference in the lives of Alaska students since he and his wife and high school sweetheart, Lisa, moved here 20 years ago after graduating from the University of Oregon.

He said he will continue that effort in his new post, which he started Monday. The position came open after Susan McCauley became the principal of the new Birchtree Charter School.

“I want to keep moving forward to make it the best place for our kids,” Vrvilo said.

Those kids include his sons Brandon, a Colony Middle seventh grader, and Zane, who is a fourth grader at Cottonwood Creek Elementary, where mom Lisa is the principal.

Vrvilo said he and his wife have had positive experiences with public education throughout their years, and he is determined to be a positive force to work with the community to continue to make the Mat-Su Borough a great place to be educated. Through his experience, he said he can help teachers and administrators use curriculum, activities and assessment to help Mat-Su students perform at their highest-possible level.

“I’ve been a very effective teacher and a very effective administrator,” he said. “I’m proud of the (school district) we have and I want to be part of making it better.”

That effectiveness includes HHS making the grade in the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report 11 of 12 years during Vrvilo’s tenure.

Now, Vrvilo will be working with Assistant Superintendent Deena Paramo, Ph.D, to increase student achievement and meeting AYP districtwide.

“Mr. Vrvilo’s work gets results, the results that matter for students to be successful in school and life,” Paramo said in a written statement.

Vrvilo said it wasn’t an easy decision to leave Houston High, but he is excited to be part of Superintendent Burnley’s new team. In his new post, he sees himself addressing meeting the needs of the increasing number of students, updating curriculum, like math and reading, and continuing to address the issue of drop-outs.

“We want to make sure kids have everything life has to offer them,” Vrvilo said.