The Governing Board of the Hemet Unified School District, on nomination by Trustee Joe Wojcik, has selected Derek Jindra, Principal at Tahquitz High School, as the January recipient of the Governing Board Recognition and Award.
Derek (a West Valley High School graduate) received his Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish from Brigham Young University in 2000 and his Master Degree in Educational Administration from California State University San Bernardino in 2003. He returned to Hemet Unified School District as a teacher at West Valley High School. He was quickly promoted to Assistant Principal at Dartmouth Middle School and then at Tahquitz High School. Derek was promoted to Principal at Acacia Middle School in 2008.
Derek returned to Tahquitz High School in 2013 as Principal where he currently leads the Titans. Through Derek’s leadership, Tahquitz High School has established itself as a source of pride for the community and Hemet Unified School District. Students are respectful to each other and to school personnel, teachers enjoy coming to work each day, and the support staff is outstanding. Walk the campus with Derek and you can feel the love he has for his students and his school. Tahquitz students seek him out for guidance and assurance. Derek has established traditions of excellence and also expanded course offering which bring rigor and options for his students to be successful. He daily tells his students to “Always Show That Titan Pride!”
For outstanding performance, professionalism and loyalty to the Hemet Unified School District, Trustee Joe Wojcik presented Derek Jindra with the Governing Board Recognition of Excellence Award and a $500 certificate to be used toward the District program of his choice.