After 14 years at the helm of Powell Middle School, Jason Sleep will soon step into a new role: assistant superintendent.

“I know that he has all the skills to do this job really well and to help us grow our district,” said Jay Curtis, superintendent of Park County School District No. 1.

Sleep will remain principal at the middle school through June and officially start in the new position July 1, replacing longtime Powell educator R.J. Kost.

Kost is retiring as the district’s curriculum coordinator; the school board voted last month to change the title of the position to assistant superintendent of teaching and learning.

Curriculum, instruction, assessment and professional development continue to be the main parts of the job.

“The other part is just partnering with Mr. Curtis and being a support for his initiatives and being somebody to bounce ideas off of as well,” Sleep said last week.

When the superintendent is out of the district, “I’m kind of the next guy on the totem pole as far as being able to support principals and support teachers,” he said.

Sleep said he hadn’t really seen himself as a district-level leader until he started the superintendent certificate program through the University of Wyoming two years ago.

“It just kind of broadened my vision beyond the school level and more into the district level,” Sleep said.

The transition also is bittersweet, as he said it will be hard to leave Powell Middle School.

“This school has gone so far … from an older school to a brand-new school, but during the 14 years, it wasn’t just the bricks and mortar that changed: It was the flesh and blood inside,” Sleep said.

“That’s what I’m going to miss the most, because we are family at Powell Middle School, and we are in the district, too,” he continued. “So I’m going to bring that to the job, because it’s always family first.”

Sleep has hired about 90 percent of the middle school staff, he said.

“They kind of reflect what I wanted our school to be, and I’m proud of that,” Sleep said.

He said he wants to finish well at the middle school and transition with the next principal.

“… It’s time for this new school to have a new leader with new ideas,” Sleep said, adding, “It’s good to shake the bush every once in a while.”

The district opened the search for a new principal to internal applicants last week after the school board approved Sleep’s transfer to assistant superintendent, Curtis said.

“If we don’t have the fit that we want, then we’ll open it up” to candidates outside the district, he said.

Curtis said he takes hiring decisions very seriously, and wants to hire the best people for the jobs they’re a fit for.

“This district is absolutely loaded with talented people. There’s no other way to put it,” Curtis said.

There were four internal applicants for the assistant superintendent position, and all were interviewed. Curtis called Sleep an “outstanding candidate.”

“He clearly loves this district,” Curtis said, adding that Sleep is committed to Powell and “a man of high character and integrity.”

“I know that I can trust him,” Curtis added. “I know what kind of work ethic he brings.”

Sleep said he hopes to continue the focus on Professional Learning Communities and support all of the schools to “bring a better system of Professional Learning Communities so that we’re spending the right amount of time on the right things.”

He added that he is proud and humbled to be serving the Powell school district in this new role.

“I’ll give my all for our kids, because it’s all about them,” Sleep said.

In coming months, he said he will be learning from Kost.

“It is going to be hard to fill his shoes,” Sleep said. “I don’t know of anybody that works as hard as R.J. He loves this district as much as anybody. I’ve got a lot of learning to do from him.”

Kost and Sleep’s connection goes back decades.

Sleep’s father was a teacher and coach, and passed away when Sleep was 12 years old. Kost replaced Sleep’s father as the high school wrestling coach and coached Sleep in football.

“It’s kind of that full circle thing,” Sleep said.