One of ACSA’s own has been named a finalist for the national Principal of the Year title from the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Jim Dierke, principal of Visitacion Valley Middle School in San Francisco USD, is one of three middle grades leaders nationwide vying for the title of 2008 National Middle Level Principal of the Year. Other contenders include Meredith Caswell of Samuel Slater Junior High School in Rhode Island and Patsy Dean of Upson-Lee Middle School in Georgia.
In addition, three finalists are vying for the title of 2008 National High School Principal of the Year: Bruce Curry of Polytech High School in Delaware, Cheryl Guyett of A.J. Dimond High School in Alaska, and Molly Howard of Jefferson County High School in Georgia.
Dierke is no stranger to professional recognition, having been named ACSA’s 2006 Middle Grades Principal of the Year as well as NASSP’s 2007 State Middle Level Principal of the Year for California.
Dierke said upon taking over the helm of the school eight years ago, he realized he would have to overcome the challenges of high crime, low expectations for student success, high teacher turnover, excessive truancy and a very high student suspension rate. An urban school located in a high-poverty neighborhood with the highest murder rate in the city and where half of students have an incarcerated parent, Visitacion Valley is a highly diverse school that averaged as many as two fights a day.
Dierke carefully implemented a plan of teaching proper classroom management, urging greater parental involvement, establishing partnerships in the community and building trust between the staff, students and parents.
He implemented a zero tolerance policy on behavior, and forged a strong relationship with the police department, with a focus on prevention and counseling. He obtained a grant to provide support to students whose parents are behind bars. He also forged relationships with parents and the community and opened up the campus after hours to be used for college prep courses and community events.
Dierke says it took two years to see signs of improvement, but the change was enough to generate some momentum, and today Visitacion Valley is a safe haven for students of all ages despite the fact that the surrounding community continues to grapple with violent crime. Now, the school is known as “an island of safety in a sea of trouble.”
Today, the school, which was once ranked at the bottom of 18 middle schools in San Francisco, has seen the most growth on the CSTs. The attendance rate jumped to 98 percent, one of the highest in the district.
Dierke and the five other finalists will each receive a $1,500 grant, and the national winner in each category will receive an additional grant of $3,500. The grants are used to promote the advancement of learning opportunities for students or other related investments such as capital improvements, the purchase of technology-related equipment, or funding specific educational programs.
For more information about the NASSP State and National Principal of the Year programs, visit www.principals.org/awards.