Lawrence High School will start the next school year with a new assistant principal.

Mark Preut, who is finishing his sixth year as a junior/senior high principal in the Atchison County Community Schools in Effingham, will assume the full-time position at Lawrence High created by the Lawrence school district. Preut will be a full-time assistant principal, while Felton Avery will handle such administrative responsibilities on a part-time basis.

Preut’s hiring means he will be returning to the school where he had worked for a semester, in 1991-92, when he taught Advanced Placement history and upper-level social studies courses for a teacher who was on sabbatical.

“I’m really looking forward to working at Lawrence High again,” he said. “I began my career student teaching with two superb Lawrence teachers (Paul Stuewe and Fran McNellis) and had my first teaching experience at LHS. My wife is a Lawrence High graduate, so for both of us it’s like coming home.”

Preut earned his bachelor’s degree at Kansas University and a master’s from Benedictine College. He’s worked previously as an assistant principal at Maur Hill-Mount Academy in Atchison, from 1998 to 2005, and a teacher and coach at Maur Hill Prep/Maur Hill Mount Academy, from 1992 to 2005.

“Mark is a student-focused administrator and a great fit for LHS,” said Matt Brungardt, principal at Lawrence High. “He has a wealth of experience in the areas of school improvement and professional learning communities. Mark understands the importance of building relationships with students, parents, colleagues and community members in order to provide a positive school climate for student achievement.”

Still serving on the school’s leadership team are Margene Brohammer, associate principal; and Mike Norris and Avery as assistant principals.