Dawn Granger has been named the new principal at Corvallis High School, effective July 1.

The announcement was made late Wednesday by Corvallis School District Superintendent Dawn Tarzian.

Granger, the principal at Cheldelin Middle School, will succeed Suzanne Dalton, who resigned May 22 after one year at CHS to accept a job as professional development coordinator for the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators.

Granger is not unfamiliar with the students and staff at Corvallis High. She served as assistant principal at CHS for two years prior to becoming the principal at Cheldelin in 2006.

"It will be like going home," Granger said, adding she was fortunate to be there during the move into the new school building. "I got to see both the tradition of the old school and the promise of the new school."

Granger said she was looking forward to working with the "great staff at CHS" and that she hopes to bring stability and consistency into a situation where there's been a lot of administrative changes over the past few years.

Granger is the third principal at CHS in the past three years. Dalton was hired last summer to succeed longtime principal Jay Conroy, whose contract was not renewed by the Corvallis School Board, although he was well-liked by parents and students. Conroy is the principal of Marist High School in Eugene.

A graduate of California State Polytechnic University in Pomona and Chapman University in Orange, Calif., Granger also has worked as the principal of an alternative high school and as a middle school science teacher. She received her administrative credentials from the University of Oregon.

"CHS is an exceptional high school with a very dedicated staff. It is important for them to have a leader who will continue to support the great work they are doing," Tarzian said. "During her two years at Cheldelin, Dawn has proven her ability to be a strong school leader. She is a good listener and works collaboratively with staff and parents to make student learning the highest priority."

Granger said she made a commitment while serving as principal at Cheldelin to spend 15 to 20 hours a week outside her office with teachers and students in the classroom and in the hallways. "That may be more of a challenge at high school, but I want to continue that if I can. I have a lot of learning and listening to do," Granger said.

The search for a new principal at Cheldelin will begin immediately.