Two new principals, including replacement for one facing assault charge, named by Juneau School District

Mark Sabbatini
Apr 24
2 min read

Scott Jonsson to head YDHS and Montessori Borealis next year after John Paul accused of injuring student; Kelly Stewart replaces Dana Wyatt at elementary school in Mendenhall Valley

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Two new principals for the coming school year to replace departing school leaders — including one no longer employed by the Juneau School District after being accused of assaulting a student — were named on Friday.

Scott Jonsson has been named the new principal at Montessori Borealis Public School and Yaakoosgé Daakahídi High School on the Dzantik’i Heeni campus, according to a district press release. He has been the principal of Harborview Elementary School since 2023, and worked as an educator in Alaska for more than 25 years.

Jonsson was named to the position after John Paul was placed on administrative leave as head of the two schools following a March 5 incident where he allegedly threw a seventh-grade student to the ground and pinned the youth with his bodyweight. Paul was subsequently charged with a misdemeanor count of assault involving purposeful or reckless injury, which he pleaded not guilty to during a court hearing Thursday.

Paul is no longer employed by the school district, Chief of Staff Kristin Bartlett wrote in an email to the Juneau Independent on Friday.

Lori Hoover, named acting principal at Montessori and YDHS as of March 5, will remain in that position until the end of the current school year, according to Bartlett.

Also named to a new position Friday was Kelly Stewart, current assistant principal at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé, as the new principal of Sít' Eetí Shaanáx - Glacier Valley Elementary School. The district’s press release notes she worked for seven years in the elementary school’s special education program, and also served as assistant principal at Thunder Mountain High School for three years before taking her current job at JDHS.

"I’m excited for the opportunity to serve the school community where I began my teaching career when I moved to Juneau thirteen years ago," Stewart said in a prepared statement.

Stewart will replace Dana Wyatt, who is moving away from Juneau next year, according to the district.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.