The Wawasee school district is not exactly unfamiliar territory for Shawn Johnson. He graduated from Fairfield High School in 1989 and has a sister living in Leesburg.

Johnson was named assistant principal at Wawasee Middle School during a special meeting of the Wawasee school board late Tuesday afternoon in Syracuse. Johnson was chosen from among 27 applicants for the position.

Most recently, he was dean of students at Munster High School in Indiana. Previous experience includes teaching social studies at Knox High School and Mishawaka Marian High School, as well as being a special needs teacher at Edison Middle School in South Bend.

After graduating from Fairfield, Johnson went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in education from Indiana University, then a masters degree in computer/information science from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Though Johnson has no prior experience as a principal or an assistant principal, he does have administrative experience from serving as dean of students at Munster. He said he does have a goal of becoming a principal.

Being closer to his roots and family was a large factor in leading him to apply for the WMS position. His parents live in Goshen and Johnson has another sister living in the Maple City. “I definitely wanted to be back in this area,” he said.

Johnson said he hopes to begin working full-time today. He plans to move his family as close to the area as possible.

During the very brief meeting the school board also voted to approve a resolution for leasing 1,100 Kuno tablets from American Capital. The board had made the decision months ago to lease the tablets but the resolution makes it official. Don Harman, Wawasee High School principal, said he anticipates all students and staff will have their tablets by Aug. 20.