Highland Welcomes New High School Administrators

The Highland Local School District has announced that it has appointed Jonathan Bailey as Highland High School’s new athletic director and assistant principal and Ryan Taylor as another high school assistant principal.

Both are the result of HHS administrators Nick Ranallo and Joshua Backo accepting positions outside of the district.

Taylor comes to Highland from the Elyria High School where he recently served as an assistant principal. Prior to that, he served as an intervention specialist/special education teacher for seven years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Kent State University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Ashland University.
The school district has also announced that Medina County Sheriff Deputy Nicole Embury has been named the district’s new student resource officer/DARE officer. Embury has assumed the duties of former DARE Officer Deputy Sharon Center who announced her retirement this past spring after 17 years of service to the district.

Embury has more than eight years of law enforcement experience and most recently worked for the Aberdeen Police Department in South Dakota, serving on patrol and as a detective. During her time in Aberdeen, she was the lead DARE Officer and Explorer advisor. She is also a certified school resource officer and ALICE instructor.

She will be working closely with Highland staff and students at all grade levels to provide continued education on DARE concepts, which focus on making healthy and positive lifestyle choices.

Embury and her husband, an Army recruiter, reside in Medina with their three dogs. ∞