Awards

Richard D. Clark
Principal Mountain View High School

Richard D. Clark Principal of Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah was selected as the Utah High School Principal of the Year. Richard earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Brigham Young University. He started his education career in 1992 at Oak Canyon and Canyon View Junior High Schools, teaching U.S. History and algebra. He became an Assistant Principal at Canyon View Junior High in 1994 and was appointed Principal of Mountain View High School in 2001. Richard has been recognized as the Best of State (BOSS Statue) for 2003 and also Best of State Principal of the Year for 2003.

 

Richard found the school losing staff because of declining enrollment along with dramatic changes in economic demographics and increases in minority populations. He formed a site based management team and a School Community Council to help articulate vision and direction of school goals based on needs reflected in localized data. He was able to align the curriculum with more formative and summative assessments and improve the interventions and remediation efforts both school wide and in the classroom. This resulted in students doing better quality work, fewer failing grades, higher graduation rates and higher student and parent satisfaction with Mountain View High School.

 

Sam Jarman, Administrator 10-12 said, "Richard is a student centered principal. The students know this because he is at every event to shake hands and give encouragement. His school is one of the most diverse comprehensive high schools in Alpine District, yet he works diligently with staff and parents to provide all students with a quality learning experiences." Janalee Hess, Community Council President, "I feel if you look at a school and see greatness, one must look at the leadership of that school to find the cause. The success at Mountain View High School is primarily due to principal Clark."

 

Richard will represent Utah in the National Association of Secondary School Principals and MetLife Principal of the Year competition for 2010-2011.

Garrick Peterson Principal of Lakeridge Junior High School, in Orem, Utah, was selected as Utah's Middle School Principal of the Year. He received his Bachelor's and Master's degree from Brigham Young University and is currently a Doctoral candidate at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Garrick began his career in education as a History teacher at Orem High School in 1998. He became an Assistant Principal at Lakeridge Junior High School in 2002 and was appointed Principal in 2004.

 

Garrick had developed maintained, evaluated and implemented curricular and extra curricular programs to reflect student achievement and growth in cognitive, affective and psycho-motor domains. He has provided the leadership in implementing the school's Professional Learning Community model, developing high standards, quality assessment systems, a school wide intervention model and extensions for high level learners. He has been a consultant, presenter and author for the Professional Learning Community.

 

Garrick's Superintendent, Vern Henshaw said, "Mr. Peterson is a strong instructional leader. Under his leadership the school test scores have increased dramatically pass rates have increased from twenty-five percent to seventy percent in math and from thirty one percent to sixty nine percent in language arts over the past three years. He is a strong advocate for all students and has implemented several outstanding programs for Hispanic students." Tim Stay, President of the School Community Council, says. "A consistent mantra to us by Mr. Peterson has been , "Every child can learn" and "No excuses". Just talk to him about the improvements that have occurred among the Hispanic population (over one hundred percent improvement in their CRT pass rates in just a few years) and he tears up with emotion about the impact it has in the individual lives of these students.

 

Garrick will represent Utah in the National Association of Secondary School Principals and MetLife Middle level Principal of the Year competition for 2010-2011.

Spencer Dean Hansen Assistant Principal at Syracuse Junior High School was selected by the committee to be the Utah Assistant Principal of the Year. Spencer earned his Bachelor's from the University of Utah and his Masters from Utah State University. He started teaching in 1009 at Central Davis Junior High as a Special Education Teacher. He worked as an Administrative Intern for two years and was appointed Assistant Principal of Syracuse Junior High in 2005. Spencer is serving on the NASSP IDEA Task force and has been on State and District committees. He selected as Utah Middle Level Administrator of the Year for 2008.

 

Spencer is leading Project Kick Start, a comprehensive strategic dropout prevention program created and implemented, in conjunction with Syracuse High School, designed to rescue students at risk and prevent them from dropping out of school. He created and implemented successful co-teaching practices assisting students with disabilities in reaching AYP for the past three years. Spencer facilitated the development and evolution of Syracuse Junior's award winning approach to Middle School Training with specific emphasis on interdisciplinary planning, instruction and assessment.

 

Robinette Bowden, Syracuse Junior High School Principal said. "Spencer works very hard to assure a quality education for each student in o9ur school. Our school is one of two in Utah to have the Middle Years Program of the International Baccalaureate Organization. Spencer's dedication and commitment to student success is a vital component of this program. Spencer has a rapport with students where they feel he is their advocate and he is always willing to listen to their side of the story." David Nielsen, Art Teacher at the school made the comment, "Spencer is a great disciplinarian and he has respect for everyone he deals with. He is kind and compassionate and has finesse and skill in any situation."

 

Spencer will represent Utah in the Natinoal Association of Secondary School Principal and VIRCO competition for Assistant Principal of the Year for 2010.