Camas High School’s new principal, Kelly O’Rourke, recently moved to the Camas School District (CSD) from Clark County School District in Nevada. Prior to becoming a principal, O’Rourke was a math teacher and has taught students ranging from elementary to high school level.

 “Since I had the experience with some elementary school teachers, my first principalship was at an elementary school. It was quite a shock but it was super great; I learned a lot. Then I was principal of a middle school… and then obviously I’m now a high school principal,” said O’Rourke. “I was an administrator of professional development of math and so I taught kindergarten through high school teachers to teach math.” 

Throughout all of her teaching career, O’Rourke says she’s never seen a school that better equips students for their adult lives.

“When this is all you know, this is all you know. This is a great place, and the kids are being exposed to high-level rigorous instruction by many teachers. The kids here are being prepared for whatever they want to do… they are highly prepared, more so than any school I’ve been in. Sometimes we take that for granted… I want kids to appreciate the instruction they get from teachers,” O’Rourke said.

As a former teacher herself, she appreciates the systems that have been put in place at CHS and said she has no major plans for integral changes at CHS besides the recent conference period changes.

“I think what’s missing is just vocalizing a system and a structure of how we do business as a school. As far as big changes, I see nothing in terms of kids that would affect their day-to-day lives. I think it’s more about communication so that everyone knows what’s expected,” said O’Rourke. 

Since enforcing the dress code at the beginning of the year, there haven’t been any conflicts with students that she’s had to work through, and she says the vast majority of her experiences with students have been positive. 

“I love the spirit of the kids. You’ve got definite diversity, but everyone is just super-spirited. I love the passion of the teachers, that they are definitely dedicated to the process. They wanna do well for the kids,” said O’Rourke. 

“I recently have seen an uptick in kindness, kids going out of their way to be kind, and I love that. Maybe just give someone a smile. I wanna see more of that because it’s out there,” said O’Rourke. 

Overall, she’s excited to be a part of CHS and is very open to hearing students’ opinions on school issues.