Ashley Kappelmann is entering her third year as the principal of Liberal High School in Liberal, KS, her 20th year in education.  A graduate of Kansas State University, Kappelmann began her service in education as an English and Journalism teacher.  She has also served as an instructional coach and assistant principal.  Before becoming the head principal of Liberal High School, Kappelmann was named the 2017-2018 Area VI Assistant Principal of the Year by the Kansas -Association of Secondary School Principals.  In 2017, she and a team of teachers from Liberal High presented “PLC Showcases: Boosting PLC’s to Ensure Individual Growth” at both the National Title I Conference in Long Beach, CA and the New Hampshire Educators’ Summer Summit in Durham, NH.  Under her leadership in 2017, the school was selected by the Kansas Department of Education as a Mercury 7 Redesign School.  The redesign project challenged an elementary and secondary school from seven school districts to re-imagine the way they educate and prepare students..  While the team at Liberal High School was able to fulfill the challenge of implementing their plan in one year, Kappelmann and her team continue to develop their plan in an effort to provide their students with the “Angry Red Advantage”.

Carter Kruger currently serves as an assistant principal at Liberal High School.  Prior to this role, Kruger served as the Assistant Activities Director, Head Girls Basketball Coach, and an advanced math teacher for four years, all at LHS.  Among his many coaching accolades, Kruger was also named a 2017 Horizon Award winner, a recognition given by the Kansas State Department of Education. Also, Kruger was a member of a team who presented “PLC Showcases: Boosting PLC’s to Ensure Individual Growth” at the New Hampshire Educators’ Summer Summit in Durham, NH.  In addition to his administrative and coaching roles, Kruger is a core team member of the Liberal High School Redesign Team.   This team has led efforts in the school to re-imagine the way they educate and prepare students and continues to analyze and refine their progress in their efforts to provide their students with the “Angry Red Advantage.”

Jay Scott joined the staff of the Kansas State Department of Education in June 2012 as assistant director on the Career, Standards, and Assessment Services team, overseeing Career and Technical Education. Beginning in July 2017, Jay became the Secondary School Redesign Specialist leading the Mercury and Gemini redesign projects along with his elementary colleague, Tammy Mitchell.  Prior to joining the State Department, Jay spent 15 years as an educator in Kansas schools. He was a teacher, coach, and an administrator in four school districts (Gardner-Edgerton, Auburn-Washburn, Mission Valley, Shawnee Heights) in Kansas.  Jay received his bachelor’s degrees in science and secondary education at Baker University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Emporia State University.  In October 2017, he began a doctoral program in Educational Leadership at Kansas State University.  A native Kansan, Jay grew up on a farm near Garfield, Kansas and attended the Kinsley-Offerle and Dighton schools. Jay comes from a family of educators. His father is a retired school administrator and his mother is a retired elementary teacher. Jay’s brother serves as a teacher and coach in the DeSoto, Kansas school district.