The Park City School District announced last week two administrative appointments for the 2018 to 2019 academic year.

Jaclyn Knapp, an adjunct faculty member and researcher at Weber State University, will be the new director of special education. She will succeed Tracy Sjostrom, who has been serving as interim director since January after Jennifer Slade left the position. The district also announced that Jamie Weekes, a math teacher at Park City High School, will serve as the assistant principal at Ecker Hill Middle School. It is a one-year appointment.

Knapp and Weekes plan to step into their new roles on Aug. 1.

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Knapp has worked as a director of special education for a charter school as well as a consultant for the Utah State Office of Education. She was also previously a school psychologist for the Davis School District and is a licensed mental health counselor.

David Gomez, interim superintendent of the Park City district, said she was selected because of the experience she will bring to the position. She will be in charge of the special education program in the district, which includes making sure the correct processes and policies are in place, he said. She will report to Benjamin Belnap, associate superintendent of student wellness.

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Knapp said it is critical to be flexible in order to meet the needs of students, while following federal laws governing special education.

She said she is excited to work in a district with only seven schools because she will be able to better know and understand the needs of the students and teachers that she will be working with.

“That is something that you really can’t get in those bigger schools and those bigger districts,” she said. “When you have a change or a policy or procedure that is put into place, that (change) can happen in that smaller setting.”

Knapp said the district is already doing a great job in special education and that she will only be building off of that reputation.

She said she is also eager to work in a district that has a “highly involved school board and group of parents.”

Gomez said Weekes will also bring years of experience to her role as assistant principal. She has taught in middle school, high school and summer school levels for the past 15 years, eight of which were spent as a math interventionist for secondary schools. She has been at Park City High School for six years.

“She brings that grassroots, ground-level experience,” he said. “I think she is well-equipped.”

She will serve as assistant principal for one year, according to a district press release. She will succeed Sam Salinas, who stepped up to become the principal of Ecker Hill after Principal Traci Evans accepted a position as the district’s associate superintendent for teaching and learning.

Weekes was not available for comment.