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Dan Klement, the new principal at
Valley Springs Elementary School.
New VSE leader plans to become a
familiar face
By
Nick Baptista
Valley Springs Elementary School has a new principal and one of
his goals is to become a familiar face at the campus for many years to
come.
Dan Klement, formerly the assistant principal at Jenny Lind
Elementary School, has been promoted to the principalship at Valley
Springs Elementary.
He replaces Tim Garrison, who was the VSE principal for two
years, and due to retirements and promotions, the school has had four
principals in the past half-dozen years.
“I keep hearing the question ‘how long are you going to be
around’ and it’s one of my goals to provide stable leadership,”
Klement said. “I don’t see this as a stepping stone.”
Klement has been in the education field for 10 years and was a
vice principal for two years at a middle school in Sacramento before he
and his wife decided to move to the foothills to raise their family. His
wife Sinead is from Amador County and that is where they now reside with
their daughter Maeve.
Upon making the move, Klement taught fourth grade for a year at
Jenny Lind and was the assistant principal the past two years.
To help familiarize himself with the parents and the community,
Klement has started a monthly “Coffee with the Principal” meeting
where he receives feedback and input.
The first coffee meeting attracted 25 parents and one of the
first questions was how long did he plan to stay at VSE.
“It’s nice to feel connected to the community,” he said.
“I love living up here and being a part of the community and I plan to
stay a long time.”
Reflecting on the opening weeks of the school year, Klement said,
“I’m absolutely loving it. We have a wonderful, caring staff. We
have a strong PTO, great parent involvement and we hope to continue the
great work done in the past.”
One of the challenges facing him and the staff in the opening
days of school has been a new drop off and pick up arrangement since the
lot previously used for that purpose is the site for the new veterans
and community hall and construction plans are moving ahead.
“It was pretty incredible,” Klement said. “Everything
shifted to the front of the school and the whole staff got out there
with orange vests and made the transition as smooth as possible. We
still have some things to address, but it’s a big challenge with 500
kids.”
Another challenge is budget reductions. Klement said he has been
impressed with the number of people, organizations and churches stepping
forward and asking how they can help to soften the blow of budget cuts,
which include the elimination of sports programs at the elementary
level.
“One of my goals is to connect with the community and reach out
and see how we can strengthen these partnerships and serve the
children,” he added.
The elementary band program is being looked at as an area for
future cuts and Klement said that would be a shame as the program is
seeing a record number of students signing up.
“We have 75-plus kids signed up – so many that we don’t
have enough room for them. This is going to be a tremendous program and
I hope there is an opportunity to keep the elementary band program
going.”
The school also has a vibrant after-school program, Klement said,
that supports homework and provides enrichment programs. Applications
are available in the office and there are scholarships and fee-based
slots.
Klement graduated from the University of California, Berkeley
with a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in business. He spent
a year in private business before switching to the public sector.
He is finishing his master’s thesis at California State
University, Sacramento in educational leadership.
Klement said he has obtained a board perspective on different
educational systems as a child being a student in another county –
England – and attending a variety of schools during his childhood,
along with teaching and being an administrator at the elementary and
middle school levels.
“It’s all been very useful to me,” he added.
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