Edwardsburg Public Schools will have a number of leadership changes going into the 2016-17 academic year, including the addition of a new assistant principal, a familiar face from Ring Lardner Middle School.

Former assistant principal Ryan Markel has been tabbed to replace Jeff Leslie, who has been named the superintendent at New Buffalo.

Joshua Bourne, a 2001 Edwardsburg High School graduate, will replace Markel as assistant principal. Bourne recently worked as assistant principal at Ring Lardner.

Markel has spent eight years as assistant principal at Edwardsburg. He has also taught physical education and health at the high school levels, as well as being a coach in Decatur.

“I wanted to get into administration, but I wanted to go to a good place, so I was not looking to take just any job,” Markel said. “That is how I ended up in Edwardsburg in the first place.”

He received his bachelor of arts degree in education from Spring Arbor University and his master of education with an emphasis on educational leadership from Grand Valley State University.

Markel said he knew that this was going to be a possibility as Leslie had been looking to move up to a superintendent position.

“It seem like it happened pretty quickly, but we knew it was going to happen because he had been

interviewing for superintendency positions,” Markel said. “He was ready to move on to his next challenge, so I knew the potential might be there.”

Markel said that you always want to improve upon what has been done previously, but at the same time, you need to maintain what has already been accomplished.

“I think our standards are really high as far as our expectations and we perform really well academically,” he said. “But we always want to get better and not always be content with where we are.”

Markel said that is the challenge ahead of him.

“We have great parent groups and I think that is as important as maintaining those high academic standards,” he said.

“He had an opportunity to become our middle school principal a few years ago, but wanted to stay that the high school,” Edwardsburg Superintendent Sherman Ostrander said of Markel. “He has been very loyal and deserves this opportunity.”

Ostrander also was pleased to see Leslie advance his career.

“Jeff did a fine job for us,” he said. “He has been selectively looking in recent years. He communicated with me on a regular basis about it. I think for him it was about finding the right fit and I think New Buffalo is that fit.”

Bourne is a graduate of Indiana University with a bachelors of science degree. He received his master of science degree with a concentration in curriculum, instruction and assessment from Walden University.

Bourne held the same position at Ring Lardner. He also taught U.S. and world history at Niles Community Schools.

The Edwardsburg Board of Education at its Monday night meeting also hired eight new teachers for the Eagle Lake, intermediate, primary, middle and high schools.

Edwardsburg Middle School Principal Jim Knoll recommended the hiring of Justin Hammis as the middle/high school co-band director and Stephanie McElwrath as the technology instructor.

Hammis holds a bachelor of music degree from University of Michigan and a mastor of music degree from Central Michigan University. McElwrath holds a bachelor of arts degree from the Michigan State University and a business education teaching certification from Bethel College.

Daniel Nommay, principal at Edwardsburg Intermediate, recommended the hiring of Kaley Flynn as a special education instructor, Kelly Mershon as a fourth-grade instructor and Melissa Hutchison as a fifth-grade instructor.

Flynn has a bachelor of arts in special and elementary education from the University of Notre Dame, while Mershon holds a bachelor of arts in elementary education from Washington State University.

Hutchison has a bachelor of arts in elementary education from Michigan State University.

Deborah Becraft, principal at Eagle Lake Elementary, recommended Frances Green as a second-grade instructor. Green has a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Western Michigan University.

Carrie McGuire, principal at Edwardsburg Primary, recommended the hiring of Lisa Corridore-Letter as a first-grade teacher and Grace Gregory as a multi-age instructor.

Corridore-Letter has a bachelor of science degree in education from Central Michigan University and a master of arts degree in teaching from Saginaw Valley State University.

Gregory obtained her bachelor of science degree in elementary education from the University of Michigan and her master of arts in teaching from Marygrove College.