Dianne Dugan has been principal at Dalton Elementary School in Aurora for 21 years. This week Dugan was named the 2006 Colorado National Distinguished Principal of the Year by the Colorado Association of Elementary School Principals.
She will be honored along with winners from other states in Washington by the U.S. Department of Education.
Dugan has worked as a teacher and administrator for more than 34 years.
Q: What makes a good educator?
A: You have to believe in students. You have to instill in them a love of learning. You have to set high standards that we all can be proud of. Educators have to be good at juggling and maintaining a balance and knowing when to move forward and when to ease up.
Q: With all the administrative pressures placed on teachers these days, it must be difficult to juggle the job of teaching. What do you tell your teachers?
A: We have to remember that these are children and we have been entrusted by parents with the most important parts of their lives. Students are really the footprints that we leave behind.
Q: How have they responded to your award?
A: The kids in the hall come up and say “congratulations” and give me a hug. We have a before (school) and after (school) day care. The kids made drawings and wrote things. They are so sweet. You wouldn’t believe the number of ways the word “congratulations” can be spelled.
