{"id":6563,"date":"2020-05-29T18:18:54","date_gmt":"2020-05-30T02:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communications.blogs.kpbsd.k12.ak.us\/?p=6563"},"modified":"2020-05-29T18:18:54","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T02:18:54","slug":"principal-eric-pederson-named-alaska-association-of-elementary-school-principals-2020-national-distinguished-principal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/2020\/05\/29\/principal-eric-pederson-named-alaska-association-of-elementary-school-principals-2020-national-distinguished-principal\/","title":{"rendered":"Principal Eric Pederson, named Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals 2020 National Distinguished Principal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Superintendent\nJohn O\u2019Brien said, \u201cI am so proud that\none of our principals received this prestigious national honor when the Alaska\nAssociation of Elementary School Principals selected Eric Pederson as the\nAlaska National Distinguished Principal for 2020! Congratulations to Eric\nand the entire Paul Banks Elementary School learning community\u2014this recognition\nis so well deserved!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

Nominated\nand selected for this recognition by principals through a statewide search\nprocess conducted by the Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals, they wrote in a press release, \u201cPederson\nis a true leader in the profession in the state. He has served on the Alaska\nAssociation of Elementary School Executive Board since 2018 and is the current\nboard president. In this role, Eric represented Alaska principals in both\nWashington DC and Juneau as an advocate for students. He has also served on the\nAlaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA) board during this time. Outside\nof school, Pederson has served on the Kenai Borough Legislative Committee, the\nTeacher of the Year Selection Committee, and the Alaska Council of the Arts.\nEric was nominated for the Life Changer of the Year Award as well as the LKSD\nTeacher of the Year. During the COVID 19 Pandemic, Pederson has stepped up as\nan educational leader across the state. He is working to make sure that the\nprincipal voice is heard and that, as a state, we are making the best decisions\npossible for our staff and students. Eric believes strongly that a\npositive school atmosphere is paramount in the overall success. He strives to\nbe present for staff, students, and the community at all times. He will only\nsupport new initiatives that add to this atmosphere. He also sees making\nthe community a better place as part of his job as a principal. This past year\nhe started a \u201cDudes and Donuts\u201d event that allowed fathers to network with one\nanother. Pederson\u2019s job does not end at the close of school each day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

About Principal Eric\nPederson, in his words<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Influences \u2013 \u201cmy principalship is a product of Alaska\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n


<\/em><\/strong>\u201cThere are many people to thank for influencing my career path. First my wife and family\u2014this job is a family affair and they have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. My Paul Banks staff! I have had the privilege to work side by side with some of the best teachers in the profession, and I have learned so much from them. Finally, my principalship is a product of Alaska. I have been blessed with incredible leadership throughout my career from my education at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) to the statewide new principal mentorship program to my work in the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) and the KPBSD. There are amazing people in this state who have had an impactful presence in my life, too many to mention.\u201d

<\/p>\n\n\n

Best part from A\nDay In The Life of this elementary school principal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\u201c<\/strong>I am a morning person and I absolutely love greeting students in the morning. I get high-fives and the latest news about students\u2019 fishing reports, pet reports, moose sightings, upcoming trips to visit grandparents, etc. The energy and eagerness of learning at this age group level is inspiring. Rain or shine it is the highlight of my day. If you ever need a pick me up feel free to meet me in the parking lot at 7:30 a.m.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

The COVID challenge and inspiration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n


\u201cThe way this school year ended was challenging to say the least. I know we relied a lot on our families and used up a significant amount of trust capital we had built with them. A positive outcome of the Covid-Crisis was being part of our schools\u2019 Care Team, who worked with the PTA to provide a lot of support to our families both emotionally and financially. Many of our families were caught in a financial pinch without work and students at home. The strength of our relationships with families was on full display as we shifted conversations from learning academics to the more basic Maslow\u2019s hierarchy of needs. It was very inspiring to work side by side with these people. It\u2019s the type of work that makes you want to get up a little earlier and stay a little later every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

A Growth Mindset<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cThose\nof you who know me well, know that I am very qualified to be a principal solely\nbased on the amount of time I spent in the principal\u2019s office as a child. I\nprobably would advise my younger self to be more grateful to my parents who did\nnot give up on me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

Final words<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n


\u201cTrust is so important. This school year we have had to rely on our parents and families like never before. Many of our schools were very successful when dealing with the remote learning mandate because our relationships we built with families was steeped in trust. I have always viewed the taxpayer as my ultimate boss. I would like everyone to know that we are diligently working to make sure we have an effective and safe environment for next school year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

Excerpt from the Alaska Association of Elementary School\nPrincipals Press Release<\/em>:
\n<\/strong>The\nAlaska Association of Elementary School Principals is proud to announce our\nNational Distinguished Principal for 2020 is Eric Pederson, Principal of Paul\nBanks Elementary School in Homer, Alaska. The 2020 National Distinguished\nPrincipal Celebration marks the 36th year that the National Association of\nElementary School Principals has presented this prestigious award.<\/p>\n\n\n

Pederson\ngraduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota with a\nBachelor\u2019s Degree, he then added a Master\u2019s Degree in Educational Leadership\nfrom the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Eric began his administrative career\nas a principal at Kuinerrimuit Elitnaurviat School in Quinhagak, Alaska in 2007\nand moved to Homer in 2013 where he has served as the principal at Paul Banks\nElementary since that time.<\/p>\n\n\n

Pederson\nwill travel to Washington DC in October 2020 for two days of activities planned\nto honor and bring well-deserved recognition to the elementary administrators\nselected by their respective states.<\/p>\n\n\n

AAESP\nbelieves that Eric Pederson is well deserving of the National Distinguished\nPrincipals\u2019 Award. We are proud to acknowledge his leadership and commitment to\nAlaska\u2019s children representing Alaska\u2019s elementary principals.<\/p>\n\n\n

The\nNAESP\u2019s National Distinguished Principal \u00ae (NDP) program was established in\n1984 to recognize elementary and middle level principals who set high standards\nfor instruction, student achievement, character, and climate for the students,\nfamilies, and staffs in their learning communities. <\/p>\n\n\n

For\nmore information: <\/p>\n\n\n

Jennifer\nSchmitz, Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals Executive\nDirector <\/p>\n\n\n

Lynn\nMayberry, Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals Vice President\/NDP\nChair<\/p>\n\n\n

Pegge\nErkeneff, KPSBD Director of Communications, Community, and Government Relations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Superintendent John O\u2019Brien said, \u201cI am so proud that one of our principals received this prestigious national honor when the Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals selected Eric Pederson as … Continue reading “Principal Eric Pederson, named Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals 2020 National Distinguished Principal”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[50,378,762],"class_list":["post-6563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards","tag-2020-national-distinguished-principal","tag-eric-pederson","tag-paul-banks-elementary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6563\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpbsd.org\/schools\/comm-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}