Jan 30, 2003 - 23:15:46 CST
Horizon Middle School assistant principal Brian Beehler was named the North Dakota Assistant Principal of the Year by the state's Association of Secondary School Principals.Beehler applied for the award after Horizon Principal Rudy Steidl was contacted by the executive director of North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders. He put together an application with letters of recommendation and sent it out in October.
"The executive director sent me a letter and said they were looking for deserving assistant principals," Steidl said. "I contacted Brian and told him that he should go for this."
Steidl said Beehler has done three things that made him think he could get the award. Three years ago, Beehler was involved in a districtwide committee that redid the district's evaluation system. At the same time, he also was setting up an after-school program at Horizon and addressing a schoolwide problem.
"He worked hard to address the issue of teasing, taunting and bullying in school," Steidl said. "He got together with a counselor, and they put together a student group to address the issue. The group is called the Peace Corps."
Despite the possibility of resentment from kids with his every day duties of dealing with discipline and attendance, Beehler is able to rise above that, Steidl said.
"He connects very well with the kids," Steidl said.
"The assistant principal is usually the bad guy in the school, but that doesn't serve as a barrier for Brian. He is in the hall talking to kids all of the time. He treats them with dignity."
(Reach reporter Sheena Dooley at 701-250-8225 or sheenadooley@ndonline.com.)
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