Schools

Ubah's Assistant Director to be Washburn High Principal

Patrick Exner was named as Washburn's principal last week.

Ubah Medical Academy Associate Director Patrick Exner has been named as the new principal of Washburn High School in southwest Minneapolis, Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson announced Thursday.

"I am happy to name Patrick Exner as the principal of Washburn High School. Mr. Exner joins MPS from Ubah Medical Academy High School in Hopkins, where he served as principal," Johnson wrote in an e-mail to district staff. "During his tenure, Mr. Exner increased math and reading proficiency and reduced student discipline reports. Enrollment at Ubah also increased 25 percent under Mr. Exner’s leadership."

Exner will replace Carol Markham-Cousins, who was reassigned earlier this year after student protests over the departure of athletic director Dan Pratt.

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Before Exner was Ubah’s assistant director, he was the director of teaching and learning for the West Metro Education Program, or WMEP, according to his bio on the Ubah website. WMEP is intended to offer integrated learning environments to students from several west metro public school districts, including Minneapolis.

He has a bachelor’s in English from the University of St. Thomas and a master’s in curriculum design and his K-12 principal license from Saint Mary’s University. He was previously an administrator in the Robbinsdale Area Schools.

Find out what's happening in Hopkinswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“He helped a lot with the kids here,” Ubah Director Musa M. Farah told the Star Tribune. The Star Tribune also reported Exner was Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson's favorite for the post.

Washburn's diverse 1,234 student body will be a significant jump for Exner, who helps guide the education of 319 students at Ubah.



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