Steven Johns named Interim Principal of Ames High School

The Ames Community School District is excited to announce Steven Johns as the Interim Principal of Ames High School. This interim position will include the remainder of this school year as well as the 2022-2023 academic school year. Mr. Johns has been an educational leader for over 30 years and has extensive experience leading high schools in the state of Iowa.

Johns most recently served as the principal of East High School in the Des Moines Public School system, a position he held for 6 years. East High is one of the largest and most diverse secondary schools in Iowa and serves approximately 2,200 students. Prior to that, he spent three years with Heartland Area Education Agency where he facilitated services to four different school districts that included special education services and implementing professional development opportunities. Johns has also been a building principal for Williamsburg High School as well as Colo-NESCO High School. 

As a long-time Iowan, Johns is excited to return to central Iowa and the Ames community. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree, Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership, along with his Superintendent Endorsement from Iowa State University. 

With experience in high schools of varying sizes, Johns understands the challenges and benefits of implementing fundamental change within a secondary school. He noted that his goal is to “inspire teams to build a cooperative environment and group synergy to achieve common goals.” On a personal level, Johns has qualified for the Boston Marathon on numerous occasions and is a licensed commercial pilot. He has two children: Stacia is a lawyer for the California Attorney General’s office and Brian is an engineering professor at Cornell College, currently teaching on sabbatical at The Colorado School of Mines. He also has one grandchild.

As a District, we are excited to work with Mr. Johns and look forward to his leadership within the Ames Community School District and Ames High School. His new position will begin later this month pending school board approval on Monday, October 25, 2021.