Next school year, Day Creek Intermediate will introduce a new head principal: David Apodaca, our current assistant principal. He will replace Alicia Lyon as the head of our school for the incoming 2017-18 year.  The Day Creek Howl interviewed him on his new position as head principal.

Mr. Apodaca calls his new position as the “instructional leader” of Day Creek Intermediate an “honor”.  “It’s an honor to be able to be the leader of a school like this, because the school, the staff here, the students here, the community here… is the best that I’ve ever been a part of.”  He was selected as our principal due to his vast experience as a teacher and administrator.  This includes four and a half years as Day Creek’s vice principal, so he’s already comfortable with the Day Creek staff, students, and schooling system.

And, although he is honored to be our principal, there are still some parts of being a principal that he does not enjoy.  “As an administrator in general… you always have people’s best intentions; you want to do what’s best for kids; you want to do what’s best for staff; you want to do what’s best for the parents.  But, sometimes, that doesn’t always meet.  So, sometimes you have situations where you have to make a decision, and everybody’s looking towards you for that decision, and you know, no matter which way you go, somebody’s going to get hurt.”

Mr. Apodaca says he is “one of those people who… can learn something from everybody.”  He has especially learned from the staff around him, including the six principals and multitude of teachers whom he has worked with over his career.  Mr. Wild, one of Mr. Apodaca’s principals during his teaching days, was one of his greatest influences.  He had a “passion to always stay connected to the kids… Not only that, he was also very good at having a vision.  They say, as a leader, you have to have a mission and a vision, and that’s what he was.  And, he was not afraid to do any job.  You always saw him around with a dustpan and a broom.  That kind of spoke to his character.”  And the “whole staff” here has influenced him: Ms. Lyon, Mr. Carson, and our former vice principal, Ms. Fleming, along with the many teachers on this campus, have inspired him to be the best principal he can be.

Finally, we gave Mr. Apodaca the Day Creek Howl’s list of the Top Ten Best Things That Would Improve School, and asked him if he would implement any of our ideas.  Sadly, due to one reason or another, none of these things will be implemented.  “That’s probably going to be a big fat no on most of those!” he laughed.  Hey, it was worth a shot!  
Congratulations, Mr. Apodaca on his new position as head principal!  He has big shoes to fill.  Ms. Lyon has led our school for several years to being one of the best in the nation.  But, hopefully, he can still make every Day Creek school day “something to ‘howl’ about.”