POULSBO — Gateway Christian Schools has appointed Barbara Waggoner interim elementary school principal.

Waggoner joined the Gateway faculty in 1997 as a first-grade teacher. In 1999, she transferred to the Crosspoint Warriors campus in Bremerton, where she taught at the elementary and secondary levels.

Her desire to reach all students prompted her to pursue further education in the area of learning disabilities. She became an educational therapist through the National Institute for Learning Disabilities and began working with students in an intensive individualized program.

Her classroom teaching experience includes grades 1-6; junior high science; and a high school elective, “Leadership and Critical Thinking.”

Gateway’s executive director of schools, Michael Forney, said of Waggoner’s appointment, “As the Gateway Christian Schools organization continues to grow at an unprecedented pace, the need for a solid elementary administrator that offers a management level skill set coupled with the ability to provide solid leadership to both our students and faculty alike is of paramount importance. Mrs. Waggoner is a true professional and exemplifies these qualities.”

Waggoner has a bachelor of arts degree in child development and elementary education from Eastern Washington University, and earned parent coach certification from Seattle Pacific University.

She and her husband of 26 years have two grown sons and reside in Poulsbo.

Gateway Christian Schools (www.gatewaychristianschools.org) is a regional Christian school with a preschool-sixth grade campus in Poulsbo and a K-12 campus in Bremerton.