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New principal takes<br>reigns of GC School

With his parents getting up in years, Bob Kelso was looking for the right opportunity to be closer to them. After all, Kelso lived in Millsboro, Del., about 3,000 miles away from Phoenix.

Bob Kelso moved into the Grand Canyon principal’s office on July 14.

“I felt it was time to get out here and be in the neighborhood,” Kelso said. “So I drew a circle on a map and holy cow, I found an opening at Grand Canyon.”

Kelso started his new job as Grand Canyon’s K-12 principal on Monday of last week.

The former principal of the 550-student Long Neck Elementary School (K-5) in Wilmington, Del., Kelso had his life in high gear to be able to get into the office last week. After making his way across the country in a moving van, he made a stop in Phoenix for certification testing. Then it was on to the Canyon, unload the truck and get it to Flagstaff.

“I finally had a chance yesterday to get out to the rim,” Kelso said. “Between the boxes, work and taking the truck back to Flagstaff, I haven’t had time to get out there. This might sound hokey, but it really struck me what an honor it is to be in this place and to teach the children of this place.”

A group of Grand Canyon students welcomed Kelso by helping he and his wife unload the truck. School board member Chuck Wahler also stopped by to offer a friendly handshake.

Kelso has an extensive background in education, both in the classroom and administration. He served as the Long Neck Elementary principal for three years and at the same time, was an instructor at Wilmington College. Classroom management, behavior management, teaching grad classes and special education are among his specialities.

Although he had only been at Grand Canyon for a few days, Kelso already had a few goals in mind.

“Both Sheila (superintendent Breen) and I have talked about taking a look at curriculum,” Kelso said. “Also, a textbook adoption system. I’d like to sit down with staff and see how to go about approaching that.”

Now that he’s made the trip cross country to start a job, Kelso and his wife Laura will be headed back to Delaware for personal reasons. His daughter Brittany is having a baby, which will be their first grandchild. The couple also had a son, Joshua, who will be attending Lynchburg (Va.) College this fall.


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