Campo Verde HS Principal, Jared Ryan, ’01

Originally from Lake Ozark, MO, Jared Ryan,Westminster Class of 2001 (Elementary Education major), currently serves as principal at Campo Verde High School in Gilbert, AZ.

After Westminster, Jared pursued graduate work to earn his MA in Educational Leadership from Arizona State University and Superintendency from Northern Arizona University, plus his ABD – Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Read on for a Q&A with Jared about his career in education and his Westminster experience.

Describe your current career role. 

• Founding Principal of Campo Verde HS in the Fall of 2009
• Recruit and retain high quality educators
• Oversee a staff of 125 employees consisting of administrators, teachers, counselors, food services, classroom assistants, transportation and maintenance
• Create a high quality educational opportunity for over 2100 students by overseeing all registration, curriculum design, special education/504 services, and campus activities
• Build community partnerships to give students job shadowing, interning and capstone project opportunities
• Represent all educators as the Mayor Educational Representative on the Town Board of Advisors
• Member of the District strategic planning committee, district oversight committee, and numerous others

What role did Westminster play in leading you to your current position/studies?

I believe Westminster created an individualized approach to education beginning with the freshman seminar, continuing on with strong academic and personal advisement and culminating with amazing opportunities to experience the world outside of the college.  These pieces have led me to create a campus wide advisement plan where all students are truly known by multiple adults across campus.  The stress on relationship building at Westminster has truly impacted thousands of students I have worked with during my 9 years as a building principal.

Which of your achievements are you most proud of?  What do you consider your greatest success?

Being the father of three amazing children and the husband to an extraordinary wife.  I often speak of my time at Westminster and the amazing relationships I was able to establish with inspiring professors and other school leaders.  With this in mind I also remember the way I was treated within the finance offices and the wonderful ladies who helped me on a regular basis.  It is my hope that the lessons I teach my children and the way I treat my wife emulate the vision of Westminster and the “people first” mentality.

How did your Westminster education inspire your achievements?

I truly believe it is the focus on people as unique entities versus just another student.  Over 9 years ago I made a strategic decision to turn down one job offer with the hope that a second opportunity may present itself.  The first option was to work within a much larger school with very little to no personal touch or family orientation.  The second option was a much smaller school with students who had felt much failure during their entire schooling experience.  Based on my relationships with key professors and coaches at Westminster such as Dr. Dorothy King, Dr. Carolyn Perry, Dr. Linda Aulgur, Dr. Robert Hansen, Coach John Welty and numerous others, I knew the importance of relationships and who that single piece could give all students an opportunity to be successful.  To this day I attribute much of my collegiate and lifelong success to the relationships established at Westminster.

What campus affiliations and activities did you participate in while you were at Westminster?

Kappa Alpha Order, Football, Study Abroad – Sunderland, England (Fall, 2000), Native American Experience (Gila River Indian Community) teaching internship

What successes and achievements do you envision in your future?  What are your goals?

After a few more years on campus I would truly love an opportunity to work with future educators.  The profession has changed dramatically in recent years and more focus must be placed on innovation.  Classroom experiences are no longer enough to engage students and promote excellence.  It is time to say goodbye to teaching to tests and hello to inspiring research, analysis, thesis and discovery.  The age of saying its alright to mess up is here and the years of teachers testing to a chapter of information must be gone.

Do you recommend Westminster to prospective college students? Why?

Yes. Yes. Yes.  It’s about people, not about money!  Results come as a natural response to doing things the right way.