SILVER CREEK — Near the end of March, Josh Case sat in the Silver Creek boardroom to support his wife, Kari, as the district recognized her efforts as a Social Worker within the district. He had no idea at the time that two weeks later, he would be in that same room receiving a warm welcome at his new home.

Josh Case is set to become the new Assistant Principal of Silver Creek Elementary School. He was appointed by the Board of Education to a four-year probationary position, effective May 19.

“I’m just really excited to get started here, to work with all the community, and the staff and students here at Silver Creek,” Case said.

Case brought his wife and three children with him to the meeting to celebrate the occasion. Superintendent Dr. Katie Ralston playfully said, “This really is the Black Knight family.”

With just over a month remaining in the school year when Case takes over, the terms of his employment will be set forth in a contract executed by Ralston.

Often when it comes to promotions in the field of education, one district’s loss is another’s gain. While Silver Creek Elementary School stands to benefit greatly from bringing Case aboard, his loss will be felt by the Dunkirk City School District.

Case leaves Dunkirk after more than a decade of service to the district. He has served as a Social Studies Teacher and Unified Basketball Coach at Dunkirk. The connections Case built through the classroom and the Unified program were on full display at the season opening Unified Basketball game at SUNY Fredonia a year ago, as one of his players, Mekiah Sedlacek, immediately ran to Case and hugged him after hitting a 3-pointer. Case’s smile persisted as Sedlacek ran down the court to play defense. Case still plans to coach the Dunkirk Unified Basketball Team at their season opening contest against Fredonia on April 29 at SUNY Fredonia.

As the final piece of the puzzle, Case’s appointment fully staffs the administrative team at Silver Creek. He will work alongside Elementary Principal Healther Krystofiak, who led the interview process.

Less than a year ago, the district hired Sydney Neubauer to the role Case now holds. She came aboard along with Wendy Harrod as High School Principal, as Shannon Matson transitioned to the role of Director of Positive Interventions and Family Connectedness. Neubauer later filled the role of Middle School Principal upon the departure of Bethany Brown. Sharon Huff served as a substitute principal in multiple roles throughout the shuffling of positions.

Ralston looked around the room and said, “I feel like we can take a deep breath and say, ‘We have our whole admin team in the room.’ That feels really, really good.”