Hundley resigns at Royal Valley; board supports "Indian Education Reform" statement

Heather Hundley has resigned as principal of Royal Valley Middle School. The resignation takes effect at the end of the school year. 

Members of the board of education accepted Hundley’s resignation during their meeting Monday evening at the district office in Mayetta.

In her resignation letter, Hundley thanked Superintendent Aaric Davis and the board for “the opportunity to be a part of the RV team for the past four years.”

Hundley began serving as the RVMS principal in the fall of 2018. She previously served a variety of administrative and teaching roles at Holton. 

Also during the board’s meeting, the board gave their support to allow Davis to include his signature on a Kansas Indian Education Reform statement being sent to the Kansas State Board of Education. 

The letter is a response to derogatory statements made against Native Americans by Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson during a conference and by a lawmaker on the Kansas House floor. 

The reform document, which is being signed by Native American education stakeholders in the state, recommends taking three steps to improve education for all students. 

The steps include:

* Establishing a Kansas Advisory Council for Indigenous Education (KACIE) composed of various representatives. 

* Tasking the committee with creating a job description for a full-time employee dedicated to coordinating indigenous education initiates in Kansas and co-lead the hiring process with KSDE. 

* Having the KACIE and newly hired Indian education coordinator establish a strategic plan for reforming education for, about and with American Indians in Kansas. 

For more on this story, please log in to your holtonrecorder.net account and select the March 30, 2022 edition under “E-Editions.”