CC#107: Opening a New School w/ Courtney Domoney - Wolf Springs MS, Blue Valley USD 229

Episode Summary In this conversation, Cool Coffee host, Rick Sola, interviews Courtney Domoney, the principal of the upcoming Wolf Springs Middle School in Blue Valley School District. They discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of opening a new school, including the importance of building a strong team, creating a welcoming culture, and engaging with the community. Courtney shares her journey in education, her vision for the new school, and the significance of the 'runway year' she has to prepare for the opening in August 2026. Connect with the guest:  Email: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) Website: https://wsm.bluevalleyk12.org/ Find more episodes like this one at https://coolcoffee.podbean.com or at your favorite podcasting platform.  Chapters (timestamps do not account for intro music) 00:00 Introduction to Wolf Springs Middle School 05:43 The Journey to Principalship 11:44 The Runway Year: Preparing for Opening 14:14 Staffing and Building the Team 19:26 Creating a Welcoming Culture 24:59 Anticipating Challenges in a New School 31:01 Holiday Reflections and Community Connections The mission of the Kansas Principals Association (https://www.ksprincipals.org/o/kpa) , an organization committed to educational excellence and the lifelong success of all students, is to develop and support all principals through optimized learning, collaborative leadership, networking, and service. Read more about the KPA HERE (https://www.ksprincipals.org/o/kpa) . YOUR input on Cool Coffee is NEEDED! Click HERE (https://forms.gle/nSVj4nNw1Yn74WVu8) to share thoughts and interest for you or a colleague on being on the show! Click for ALL Cool Coffee (https://coolcoffee.podbean.com/) episodes! Connect with Cool Coffee on... Follow us on X: @KSPrincipals (https://x.com/KPACoolCoffee) ; @KPACoolCoffee (https://x.com/KPACoolCoffee) Facebook: KSPrincipals (  / ksprincipals  ) Contact the host: [email protected], (mailto:[email protected],)  or [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])   Full Transcript (timestamps do not account for intro) Rick Sola (00:01.762) Hello and welcome to Cool Coffee. I'm here today with Mrs. Courtney Domoney from Blue Valley School District, USD 229 and the principal of the yet to be Wolf Springs Middle School opening August, 2026. Welcome Courtney. Courtney Domoney (00:40.44) Hi, I'm glad to be here. Thanks for having me. Rick Sola (00:42.806) Yeah, of course. And I'm excited to have a conversation here in December. We're recording this December 3rd, 2025, and your building will open August of 2026. so and it's interesting as we're talking and I see the board behind you with so many different notes and thoughts and things to remember that we'll get to, I'm sure. But really an exciting time. And so before we get into that, just a reminder to listeners, please Give the show a follow, give it a like, and help share the stories from our amazing principals here in this great state of Kansas, and help invest in our collective growth in this wonderful principal profession. And Courtney, I'm super excited to talk to you about this. First of all, you're right down the road for me in Blue Valley, but opening up a brand new middle school, what an adventure. What do you, what'd you do today? Courtney Domoney (01:41.868) To date, so this year is very different for me and I'm sure we'll talk about that, but I'm actually not in a building, have been a building principal before, but this year I'm at district office and was given this year as kind of a runway year to prepare for the school. And as August got started, I was like, what am I gonna do? But every day has just, know, progress has been made and gotten so much busier. So today I was at a meeting with all district administrators, just kind of a December update. something that we regularly do. I then actually went out to the school site and gave a tour to a parent who is on my parent advisory committee and wasn't able to join our last parent advisory committee group. Came back, talked with one of our world language directors or coordinators because we have a Chinese immersion program that'll be moving to our new school and we kind of had a pre-discussion about staffing for that program so that we can make sure to be out front of that. And gosh, just, every day has been so different and it's kind of like ping pong all day long. Rick Sola (02:48.3) So, okay, so, simple question, what'd you do today? And now I've got like 50 new questions and we're like knee deep already. And I guess let's start at the basics. What is your mascot going to Courtney Domoney (02:52.782) Yeah. Courtney Domoney (03:04.206) We are the Coyote. And that, what's think unique about this school opening, there has not been a new middle school in Blue Valley since 2011. And since that time, there have been two...