Jenny Gagon was born and raised in Huntington, graduated from Emery High School and furthered her education at University of Utah, where she received her Bachelors in Elementary Education. She then went on to receive her Masters from Utah State University in 2017 in Instructional Leadership with a certificate in K-12 Administration.
Since then, she has taught 19 years in both elementary and middle schools, mostly the fifth and sixth grades. Gagon stated that she has taught throughout the state of Utah, including inner city Ogden, a charter school in Price, Mont Harmon Middle School and more. Most of her career has been with the Carbon School District (CSD), where she has spent 12 years. Gagon did not just teach in this time; she was also an instructional coach as well as a mentor.
While working at Mont Harmon, Gagon recalled the school being placed on what the state of Utah called a “turn-around,” labeling the school as failing. Through that process, she was able to step up and be involved in some of the changes implemented. The school saw huge growth and showed Gagon that, when in a leadership position, she can impact and have a larger affect on change. She stated that positions started opening in both Carbon and Emery counties and she quickly applied for many of them before securing her role as principal at Cleveland Elementary.
“I’m very grateful to be offered this one,” she said.
Gagon is looking forward to getting to know families, teachers and students in Cleveland. She stated that it is obvious the school and town are a very close-knit community. Gagon wishes to get to know the people and understand why they love Cleveland so that she is able to engage in that.
Secondly, Gagon believes that change happens when you analyze and look closely. She wishes to help bring faculty together to figure out what is going well and celebrate those successes, but also look at where the holes are. Gagon believes that in education, helping the students learn and grow is the biggest responsibility and when things are not analyzed consistently, is it difficult to make change. Gagon is looking forward to bringing some of the expertise that she has gained over the years.
Furthermore, Gagon recalled when she was once told that, in education, you look at every single child as if they are your own and realize that an individual would do anything to help them succeed, which is her mindset for the students of Cleveland.