Dakota Times

District 196 Superintendent Mary M. Kreger announced the hiring of Tony Washington as the next principal of Red Pine Elementary School.

Washington was the assistant administrator at Red Pine this past school year, responsible for overseeing scheduling, testing, special education, academic interventions and behavior management, among other things. He will replace Drew Goeldner, who was hired to be the new principal at Greenleaf Elementary School. Washington and Goeldner will take over in their new positions July 1.

“I am honored and excited to be chosen as the next leader at Red Pine Elementary,” Washington said. “Red Pine is a special place with great students, supportive families and an incredibly talented and caring staff. I look forward to continuing our work together as a strong school community within District 196.”

This will be Washington’s second principalship. He was a principal of an elementary school in Edina from 2015 to 2017, then worked as an assistant at elementary schools in Inver Grove Heights and St. Cloud Area Schools before starting at Red Pine in June 2021. Washington got his start in education in 1998, as a sixth-grade teacher for Hopkins Public Schools. In 2011, he took his first administrative position, as associate principal of an elementary school in Eden Prairie.

Washington has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, and earned his specialist and master’s degrees in education from the University of St. Thomas.

_{Source: https://dr.district196.org/families/news/article/~board/district-news/post/district-196-hires-tony-washington-to-be-next-principal-at-red-pine-elementary}