Dubuque Senior High School Getting a New Principal

The Dubuque Community School District has appointed Brian Howes as the new principal of Dubuque Senior High School, pending approval by the Board of Education at its May meeting.

Howes, who currently serves as principal of Washington Middle School, will assume the position July 1.

 As principal of Senior, Howes will be responsible for the strategic and day-to-day operations of the school, which serves approximately 1,600 students and has 200 professional and support staff.

This is a return trip to Senior for Howes, who served as an assistant principal/registrar at Dubuque Senior from 2011-2018 before he was named principal at Washington Middle School.

Amy Hawkins, the district’s chief human resources officer and superintendent-elect. says

“Brian is a proven leader with strong instructional, communication and collaboration skills.  We are excited for him to rejoin the Dubuque Senior High School team as its leader into the future.”

An experienced educational administrator, Howes has held a variety of roles in the Dubuque Community School District throughout his career. Before serving at Washington and Senior, he was an assistant principal at Hempstead High school from 2010-2011, district-level curriculum coordinator from 2006-2010 overseeing K-12 science and career technical education, instructional coach at Washington from 2005-2007, a science teacher (1998-2005) and science department chair (2003-2005) at Hempstead High School, and a science teacher in the Garnavillo Community School District in Garnavillo, Iowa, from 1997-1998. Howes was named the Iowa Assistant Principal of the Year in 2018 and is a previous recipient of the Dubuque Education Association TEAM (Together Educators and Administrator Make-It-Happen) Award.

Howes says:

 “Dubuque Senior High School is steeped in tradition and being a member of the RamFam was a truly wonderful experience.  I am honored by the opportunity to return to Dubuque Senior and look forward to reconnecting with the staff, students and families as we collectively work to continue the school’s outstanding legacy.”

Howes holds a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry teaching, a master of arts in science education degree, and an advanced study certificate (PK-12 Principalship) from the University of Northern Iowa.