CREEDE — The Creede School District recently announced that Assistant Principal and Special Education teacher Jennifer Johnson will be taking over for previous Principal John Goss for the 2022-2023 school year.

“I am really excited and happy to be coming back and working with the students again in a new capacity,” said Johnson.

For the past three years, Johnson has been working with the district’s Special Education Department and serving as the assistant principal. Goss retired at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

Prior to moving to Creede, Johnson and her husband spent 49 years in Pennsylvania and were looking to start a new life in a rural area and that is when happenstance brought them to Creede.

“I’ve worked as a teacher for the past 30 years,” Johnson said. “For the first 20, I did general and special education and then for the past 10, I worked as a special education administrator. We were thinking of looking for a new place to live when we retired and then my husband saw a job listing for a public works director in a place called Creede. We decided why wait?”

Johnson and her husband made the move to colorful Colorado and what a change it was.

“I came from a district of about 3,500 students to one with about 100,” laughed Johnson. “But with that is an opportunity to have more one on one with students and I really enjoy that.”

Johnson graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State and then her master’s from Chatham University. After moving to Creede, Johnson wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do and then the Creede School District posted a job opening for a Special Education teacher.

“Everything just worked out perfectly and we have enjoyed being here for the last three years,” Johnson said.

When asked what she thought of when thinking of the coming school year, Johnson said that she hopes to bring even more positivity to the school and that each child has within them the chance to succeed.

“My vision for this school aligns with the vision of the Creede School District,” Johnson said. “My vision entails team collaboration and to provide an environment that encourages a lifelong love of learning.”

Johnson will continue the efforts of the district to remain as transparent as possible within Creede and surrounding communities.