Add change in administration to the list of changes taking place at LHS this year.

Nick Wood has been announced as the new assistant principal/athletic director, and associate principal Margene Brohammer announced her resignation and move to Oklahoma earlier this month. USD 497 announced today that assistant principal Mark Preut will be elevated to the role of associate principal

An alumnus of LHS, Wood taught and coached at LHS for eight years before moving to Muscat, Oman. Most recently, he taught and coached girls basketball at Free State High School.

“Taking on a leadership role at LHS was an absolute no-brainer,” Wood said. “It was a goal of mine to one day obtain a building leadership position, and once this opportunity came up at my alma mater, I had to go for it. I can’t imagine a better place to begin my path in administration. This role provides me a chance to give back to the school and community that provided me with so many amazing experiences and opportunities when I was growing up.”

Wood takes the place of John Hilton, who accepted a position at Blue Valley Northwest over the summer.

“I am excited for Nick to join the administrative team and to return to the Chesty Lion family,” Principal Cynthia Johnson said in a press release from USD 497. “As an LHS graduate and former teacher and coach, Nick has an inside perspective on what it means to uphold and continue the legacy of Lawrence High School.”

Wood said returning to school safely is a top priority for the coming months.

“I think the number one goal is to be able to get the students and staff back to school,” Wood said. “This is a difficult time for everyone. We are all facing adversity and doing the best we can with this new normal that we all live in. Making sure that our students and staff have a safe place to learn will be of the utmost importance.”

The news of Woods hiring was quickly accompanied by the departure of Brohammer, who had been associate principal at LHS for 10 years. She accepted a position in Norman, Oklahoma, which moved her closer to her family.

“The LHS family and community makes it very hard to leave, but I’ll take my ‘Chesty Lion’ grit and perseverance wherever I go,” Brohammer said. “I’ve also been at LHS for 10 years, and need a new challenge to continue to learn and grow. Someone wise told me that in order to come back, I have to leave.”

Brohammer has had a connection to LHS since she was in high school, growing up near the school in rural Douglas County. She asserted that there is something special about LHS that can’t be found everywhere else. 

“LHS is so connected: to each other, to the community, to tradition, and to history,” Brohammer said. “I’m glad our district has a commitment to equity. The perspectives of students here have changed me. I’ve also never met harder-working, committed administrators, teachers and staff.”

Brohammer is excited to begin a new chapter and growing opportunity in her life but affirms that what she saw in her time at LHS has shaped the way she approaches her career.

“I love that our food service staff knows everyone’s names,” Brohammer said, “that our custodians will drop everything to help find a lost item, that our administrative assistants know our students, that paraprofessionals and security guards are plugged into the lives of students, and that staff gathered money and items during winter break so a struggling family could celebrate the holidays together. It isn’t like that everywhere I’ve been as an educator.”