The Peoria Unified School District Governing Board recently approved the following administrative appointments at their governing board meeting: Megan Bennett as the principal of Vistancia Elementary School, Shawn Duguid as the principal of Liberty High School, Michelle Lewis as the principal of Oasis Elementary School, Diana Romito, Ed.D. as the principal of Copperwood Elementary School, and Alison Shinkle as the principal of Desert Palms Elementary School, according to a news release.

These individuals will oversee all functions on their school site related to Peoria Unified’s Strategic Plan — Student Success, Safety and Well-Being, Community Connection and Stewardship of Community Resources, effective July 1, 2022.

Bennett is joining Peoria Unified from Connecticut and will be relocating to Arizona this summer. She is bringing a wealth of experience to the district, currently serving as superintendent of schools for Regional School District 12 and leading four schools with approximately 800 students, according to the release. Bennett has held the roles of principal from 2007 to 2018, as well as teacher, coach and a math coordinator.

Duguid has served in Peoria Unified School District in a variety of roles since 1998. He started his career as a teacher at Oakwood Elementary, 1998-2005. In 2005, he was named assistant principal where he served both Sundance Elementary and Sahuaro Ranch Elementary, 2005-2012. He was then appointed as the principal at Oakwood Elementary where he served the staff, students and community for six years. From 2018 to 2021, Duguid held the role of executive director over elementary schools and then transitioned to chief operations officer. For the past year, Duguid has served as assistant principal at Raymond S. Kellis High School.

Lewis currently serves as Peoria Unified’s 504 coordinator. She previously worked in the Human Resources Department as a Human Resource director and specialist from 2014 to 2017. Lewis started her career in Florida as a teacher and went on to serve as administrator at both the middle school and high school level. She served as dean of students, assistant principal and principal of middle schools and high schools in Marion County Public Schools from 2001 to 2014.

Romito is joining the Peoria Unified School District after being a building level administrator in Cartwright School District, serving in both assistant principal and principal roles since 2011. Prior to that, she was a teacher in Cartwright, as well as a media specialist in Indiana. She has experience in Positive Behavior Intervention Supports, as well as Boys Town and the Leader In Me programs. She worked to bring the International Baccalaureate program to one of the middle schools in Cartwright and served school that housed the district’s gifted program.

Shinkle has held the role of assistant principal for the last five years at Foothills Elementary and Desert Palms elementary schools. She most recently moved into the interim principal position at Desert Palms in December. Prior to her appointment as an administrator, she began her career with Peoria Unified as an instructional assistant while she went to school for teaching. She then moved into a teaching position serving resource students at Ira A. Murphy Elementary and Oakwood Elementary for more than eight years.

Peoria Unified, located in the Northwest Valley, serves more than 37,000 students in 34 elementary schools, seven high schools and one non-traditional high school.