Nov 19
5
KPBSD leadership recognized by State of Alaska Educational Leaders!
News Release
Kenai Middle School Assistant Principal Dan Beck is State of Alaska 2020 Assistant Principal of the Year!
KPBSD is proud to celebrate Homer Middle School Principal Kari Dendurent who is Region III Principal of the Year, and Kenai Middle School Assistant Principal Dan Beck who is recognized as both the Region III Assistant Principal of the Year AND the State of Alaska 2020 Assistant Principal of the Year!
In Mr. Beck’s words…
“It is great to be involved in a career that I love, and I wake up each morning feeling good about going to work. As a school principal, there is so much variety in my work, and two days are never the same. I really enjoy that I am not in a position that requires me to do the same things over and over, day after day. I enjoy my interactions with students, and I am hopeful that I am making a positive impact on the students who I have worked with over the years.” –Dan Beck, Kenai Middle School assistant principal
Encouragement
“The first person to encourage me to become a principal was my wife, Tracie Beck. We were teaching together in rural Alaska and she pointed out the skills that I have that she felt would make me a good administrator. She has always been supportive and encouraging, and I am very thankful for her.”
#Appreciation
“KMS is a great place to work. I know that it is common to use the term family to describe the people who you work with, but here at KMS I cannot think of another way to describe our workplace relationships. Our staff is great and that really contributes to the enjoyment and fulfillment that I get out of my work. This is my ninth year as the assistant principal at KMS, and the way that Mr. Dosko shares the administrative duties with me contributes to my high level of job satisfaction and longevity. We work closely on all administrative duties and I feel valued as a member of the KMS team.”
Thankful for mentors
“Several administrators were influential mentors to me early in my administrative career. I am thankful for the leadership and direction that Ron Keffer, Gary Whitley, Sam Stuart, and Larry Natta provided to me as I began learning the craft of school administration. They were the people who I looked to for direction and advice when I was new in the profession.”
“Mr. Dan Beck is a well deserving recipient of the Alaska Assistant Principal of the Year honor,” said Superintendent John O’Brien. “He was selected for this honor by his peers for good reason. Dan is a seasoned school administrator having served in principal and assistant principal roles in Alaska and Montana. In every decision Dan makes, he has the best interest of his students in mind. He is an amazing advocate for students and we are all very proud of him!”
Vaughn Dosko, Kenai Middle School principal said about Mr. Beck, “Ten years ago, I was representing Alaska as the Assistant Principal of the year. It is a great pleasure to mentor and work with Dan on a daily basis for the past nine years. Our administration styles mesh in a way that we are able to draw the best out in each other. Dan’s effort and passion for Kenai Middle is on display each and every day. Dan Beck is one of the many reasons why KMS is the great place it is today.”
“I have had the opportunity to work with Dan Beck as a colleague in the capacity of a fellow principal and as a member of the Kenai Peninsula Activities Association for the past seven years,” said Kari Dendurent, Homer Middle School principal. “In addition, I have had the great pleasure of following in his footsteps as the principal of Homer Middle School. While the principal at HMS, Dan created an environment of family and hired several of the phenomenal teachers currently practicing today. It is through his foresight to find and hire quality staff that HMS has become a school of excellence. As a principal colleague, I have had the opportunity to work with Dan in calibration teams and have visited his school often. During my visits, I have seen the compassion, empathy, and true sense of caring for students when walking in the halls with Dan, talking with him as he supervises lunchtime and transitions, as well as the respect he has earned from his students upon entering classrooms. Dan’s rapport with his students is in a coaching capacity and he will treat students as individuals to support them in both their academic and social emotional needs. I have also had the opportunity to work with Dan on the Kenai Peninsula School Activities Association (KPSAA) Board. Dan is level headed in his decision-making and is able to bring the history of decisions made by the board as well as providing sound reasoning to establishing policies. Dan has been invaluable on this board to ensure fairness and equity to the student athletes of the KPBSD.”
Links
- Website: Kenai Middle School
- Facebook: Kenai Middle School
- KPSAA website
- Alaska Council of School Administrators website
Do you have a story tip about someone to profile in the weekly KPBSD graduate, student, or staff profile? Kindly email Pegge Erkeneff, KPBSD Director of Communications, Pegge@KPBSD.org.
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