LAKOTA WEST HIGH SCHOOL - Key Persons
Ben Brown has been principal of Lakota West High School since 2020. Mr. Brown has served the Lakota Local School District since 2005, serving as principal of Union Elementary and Ridge Junior School prior to Lakota West. Mr. Brown enjoys the extracurricular activities and opportunities students have at West and being able to see them excel in their areas of talent and interests. Mr. Brown graduated from Miami University with his Bachelor's degree and from Xavier University with his Masters of Education degree.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Assistant Principal
- Principal
Cathy Bella is the assistant principal responsible for students with last names between M-Z at Lakota West Main Campus. She has served the West community as assistant principal since 2020.
She enjoys helping students achieve their post-secondary goals and supporting students in their passions inside and outside of the classroom. Ms. Bella was a high school English teacher for 15 years before transitioning to the role of assistant principal. She attended Miami University for both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in education.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal
- Associate Principal at Lakota West Main Campus
Jason Jackson is the associate principal at Lakota West Main Campus for students with last names A-L. He has been an administrator at Lakota West since 2005.
Mr. Jackson likes working with teachers, students and staff to make their experiences at Lakota West better. Prior to coming to Lakota West, Mr. Jackson was an administrator and teacher at Kings, Lakota and Madison school districts.
Officer Jeff Newman works with the Lakota West Administration team on school safety, building security, criminal activity, traffic control and student safety. Officer Newman can be called for anything, but mainly law enforcement concerns and questions.
Officer Newman has served the West community since 2005. He enjoys the interaction with the staff and students. He was a former Lakota West basketball coach and is currently the golf coach at Lakota Plains Junior School.
He has been in law enforcement for 32 years with jobs as a Certified Crime Prevention Specialist, School Resource Officer, Hostage Negotiator, Bike Patrol Officer and an ALICE Instructor.
Kathy Williams has been the office manager at Lakota West High School since December 2018. She has been with Lakota School District since 2000. She worked at Lakota West for most of those years, except for four years when she worked at Lakota Central Office in the Special Services department. Mrs. Williams enjoys working with the staff and students of Lakota West.
Katie Craig is the main office secretary at Lakota West High School. She has been serving the Lakota community since 2015. Katie enjoys interacting with and getting to know the students and their families. She is responsible for early dismissals, work permits and parking passes. Please contact her with any questions or concerns regarding these issues.
Job Titles:
- Resource Officer for Creekside ECS
Officer Patrick Eilerman serves as the school resource officer for Creekside ECS and Lakota West Freshman. Officer Patrick has been with the West Chester Police Department since 2017. He works with students in many different capacities and helps teachers reinforce safety reminders. He patrols the building, is instrumental in securing our facility, supports our arrival and dismissal procedures and supports our Liberty students throughout the day.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Assistant Principal
- Athletic Director
- Director
- Principal
Scott Kaufman is both an assistant principal and athletic director for Lakota West High School. He coordinates all interscholastic athletic programs, as well as monitoring student activity groups.
He has over three decades of experience in education and has been at Lakota West since 2011. Lakota West is rich in athletic history and he is proud to be a part of the team. He and others have worked hard to give student-athletes the finest facilities and opportunities in their chosen sport, thanks to a committed booster group, exceptional coaches as well as district leadership and a Board of Education who celebrate the value of strong education-based athletics.
Questions and/or concerns should be initially directed to the sport's head coach or program leader. General questions about athletics can be sent to Mr. Kaufman, who will respond or forward to the appropriate department.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Administrator for Lakota West High
Scott Laman has been an administrator for Lakota West High school since 2020. Mr. Laman served as an assistant principal from 2020-2021 and an associate principal from 2021 to present. He has served the Lakota Local School District since 2015, previously as a teacher at Ridge Junior School.
Mr. Laman enjoys seeing students chase their dreams in the classroom, through extracurriculars and on the field of play. He graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Education. He obtained his Administrative License through Findlay University.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Principal
- Principal at Lakota West High School 's Freshman Campus
Taryn Barker has been an assistant principal at Lakota West High School's Freshman Campus since 2021. She previously worked in other districts as a special education coordinator, intervention specialist,and English teacher.
Mrs. Barker enjoys working with students each day and helping them make successful transitions into high school as they begin to discover their interests and develop future plans. Mrs. Barker earned her Bachelor's degree at the University of Cincinnati and has a Master's degrees in Special Education and Administration from Xavier University and Miami University, respectively.
Job Titles:
- DEAN - ASSISTANT to ADMINISTRATION
Job Titles:
- Lead Attendance Secretary
- Office Secretary
Tracy Henderson has been the lead attendance secretary at Lakota West since 2021. She is responsible for recording students' daily attendance. Tracy enjoys the ability to interact with and support the families of Lakota West.