By Britlie Sharp
Emery High School recently finished another great year under the direction of principal Steven Gordon. Before he became the principal, Steven Gordon spent 14 years teaching and four years serving as a vice principal. He began his teaching career at Mont Harmon, where he taught special education and physical education for two years. Next, he taught for 12 years at Emery High School, including functioning as the special education department chair. He spent the next four years as the vice principal of Emery High School under principal Larry Davis. For the past two years, Steven Gordon has been the principal of Emery High School.
Principal Gordon earned his degrees and certificates from several different colleges. He completed his associate’s degree at Snow College. At Southern Utah University, he received his bachelor’s degree. Principal Gordon earned his master’s degree from Walden University. At Utah State University, he received his administrative certificate. He also earned a driver’s educationcertificate at Brigham Young University.
It is easy for Mr. Gordon to relate to students. He enjoys going to the events and activities at the school. He loves supporting the sports programs and participating in other events at the school. Principal Gordon spent many years coaching sports. This, combined with his years as a teacher, has given him a great rapport with the students and the students can talk to him easily. Principal Gordon cares about all the students and likes to see them succeed.
This past school year at Emery High School, there were a couple major changes. One change was the school schedule. The schedule went from seven 45-minute classes everyday to an “A day, B day” schedule. The students go to five classes each day and then go to five different classes the next day. Language arts and math classes are double-booked, so the students go to those classes everyday. Each class is now 65 minutes long. Principal Gordon said the schedule change went well. The students adapted quickly and enjoyed the extra time to work in class. Many students thought it made the day go by faster. The teachers had to adjust to teaching for 65 minutes instead of 45 minutes. Sometimes, the teachers forgot which day it was and had to ask the students, but the teachers quickly got the hang of it and enjoyed the new schedule.
The other major change that happened at Emery High School this year was that freshmen started attending the high school. Principal Gordon claims there was a lot more noise at the high school with the freshmen there. The freshmen seemed a little lost at first, but they eventually figured things out and adjusted well to the change. In order to fit all the students, trailers had to be added to the school. The student body rose from approximately 420 students to 600 students. It was especially good to have the freshmen at the high school for extracurricular activities. They did not have to be brought to the high school to participate in activities. Principal Gordon said that the transition of moving the ninth graders up to high school went really well.
Principal Gordon really likes his profession and enjoys being around the students. He is grateful for vice principal Dean Stilson. Principal Gordon said that Dean Stilson is very helpful and contributes a lot to the school. Every morning, Mr. Gordon and Mr. Stilson meet to plan the day. Principal Gordon and vice principal Stilson had a successful year at Emery High School and look forward to the coming year.
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- Vice Principal Dean Stilson
