District Leadership Moves and Additions

New leadership roles:

• Lakewood High teacher Rachel Bonsky will move into the role of Lakewood High house principal, replacing Meredith Wotjkun, who has retired. Bonsky has been an intervention specialist at Lakewood High since 2017. She served as the Special Education Department facilitator at LHS and as one of the District’s summer school administrators. She holds a master’s in educational leadership from Ashland University and a bachelor’s in special education.
   
• Holly Botos, formerly a middle school assistant principal at Kenston Schools, will become the new assistant principal at Garfield Middle School. She will replace Ouimet Smith, who has retired. Botos was a high school social studies teacher before moving into administration. She earned a master’s in educational administration from Georgia Southern University and a bachelor’s in history and secondary education from Baldwin Wallace University.
   
• Harding Middle School Assistant Principal Hadeel Nimeh will become the new principal at Roosevelt Elementary, replacing Allison Aber. Aber was named head of the District’s Human Resources Department in May. Nimeh earned both her bachelor’s degree in education and her master’s in educational leadership from Cleveland State University. She is currently working on a doctorate in urban education administration at Cleveland State.
   
• Lauren Priestley, formerly a PreK-12 technology integration coach with Shaker City Schools, will become the elementary teaching and learning coordinator for the District. She will replace Kristin Clark, who in May was named the next director of the Teaching and Learning Department, replacing Steven Ast. Ast was named assistant superintendent in April. Priestley is also an adjunct professor in pedagogy at Ashland University. She holds a doctorate in interprofessional leadership and a master’s in school counseling from East Carolina State University. She earned her bachelor’s in middle childhood education from Kent State University.
   
• Amanda Sears, formerly a K-12 instructional coach with Amherst Exempted Village School District, will become the next assistant principal at Harding Middle School, replacing Hadeel Nimah. Sears, who is also an adjunct professor at Ashland University, holds a master’s in curriculum and instruction from Cleveland State University and a bachelor’s in PK-12 visual arts education from Kent State University. 
   
• Amanda Zapotechne, formerly a coordinator of curriculum and instruction with Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District, will become the next principal of Emerson Elementary. She will replace Denice Leddy, who has retired. Prior to joining CH-UH, Zapotechne was a principal for North Ridgeville City School District and assistant principal at Cleveland Metropolitan School District. She earned her master’s in educational leadership from Bowling Green State University and her bachelor's in middle level education from the University of Akron.

We look forward to the positive impact these leaders will make in our classrooms, schools, and the broader Lakewood community. Please join us in welcoming them to their new positions and wishing them a successful start to the 2026-27 school year.