Starting July 1, 2020 Tigard High’s current associate principal, Lisa Dailey, will be taking the principal position at Hazelbrook Middle School. 

     This school year is Dailey’s third year working at Tigard. As associate principal, some of her roles include: working on the master schedule for next year, hiring candidates, visiting teachers and giving them feedback, sharing discipline and management information and working with counselors.

     Dailey shares a deeper connection to Hazelbrook Middle School than students may think, she was a former student at Hazelbrook during the second year they opened in 1992. After many years, Dailey will be returning to the same school she attended when she was a kid, but now she will hold the title of principal.

     “It was all shiny and new when I went there. During that time, I had a really rough childhood and [my family] had just moved from LA. The staff really made me feel welcomed. I felt kind of out of place because moving from LA was a huge culture shock and [the] family demographics [were] so much different than what I was used to in California,” Dailey said. “The staff made sure my transition into high school was smooth and [that] I had everything that I needed. I think that’s what’s so near and dear about it. I get to give back to the community and make sure kids who have the non-traditional household have everything they need.” 

     Obtaining the position was a complex, tiring, and intense process. The whole process consisted of three stages: a video recording, in-person interview and a community meeting. 

     “Now for every position [the district] hires there are three questions that we have to record ourselves [answering]. You have about two minutes to respond and we only have two tries,” Dailey said. “If you don’t like your first response you can redo it, but after that it sends [automatically]. One [example] of a question is: how has traditional education failed people of color and how can it be changed?” 

     The second round consisted of a typical 45-minute panel interview with various members of the TTSD board like Director of Secondary Education and College & Career Amber Fields, Human Resources Director Debbie Ebert, administrators from around the district and teachers. 

     The final round was made up of different meetings that were split into two parts. 

     “The first [part] of the third round was [a meeting] with the instructional coach. Then I met with some kids which was so fun,” Dailey said. “[For] the second part, I met with a really large group of teachers and a group of parents. Then I had to meet with the superintendent. This was all in one day; it was [around] three hours.”

     After countless meetings and interviews, Dailey finally received the news at an unexpected time. 

     “Director [Fields] is amazing. She came to my doorstep at nine o’clock at night with roses. I was so tired from everything that it didn’t register with me. She made the announcement to me and said that [the district] would like to officially offer [the position] to me.”

     According to the Oregon statewide 2020-21 report card, there has been a variety of women in educational leadership throughout the years. “Among staff reported as principals, 54 percent were women, a slight increase from the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years” (Gill, 12). The percentage of female principals has only increased by 3 percent since 2016. Looking even deeper at the district level state-wide, 31 percent of superintendent positions are held by women while the percentage of teachers that are women, 71 percent, stays steady through the past four school years. Locally, Dailey will be the only female secondary principal in TTSD currently. Dailey touches on the subject of the gender gap in education leadership at TTSD. 

     “I had two female principals growing up so I was able to experience that female leadership, but if we’re just looking at secondary today in our district it is lacking. We have a lot of women leaders at the district level,” Dailey said. “I think there is a gap but it’s improving. I think staff too are asking for a more diverse group of leadership.” 

     As we reach the end of the school year, Dailey looks back on the things she will miss most about Tigard High School.

     “[I will miss] the people. When I worked at the district office for a year [as a] TOSA and I [would] serve all of the schools, Tigard felt so welcoming and homey. When I started here I understood why,” Dailey said. “It was because the teachers [and staff] look after each other and their kids. [There are] systems in place to make sure that we can focus on our student’s needs and not just [their academics]. I’m going to miss [that].” 

      It’s time to say: Goodbye Tigard and hello Hazelbrook.