Principal of the Year

Mr. Alfonso Lopez was born and raised in Mexico and immigrated to the United States to instill the value of education to his family. Over the past decade, Mr. Lopez's goal has been to make a difference in his students’ lives regardless of their cultural background, a complete opposite mindset than that of how he was raised. Mr. Lopez sees diversity issues as opportunities to grow. Instead of avoiding cultural diversity issues, he is proactive and seeks school improvement. He takes the opportunity to discuss difficult situations, listen to multiple perspectives, and develop next action steps, in order for his dual-language school to be more successful. He is an agent of continuous improvement to promote each student’s academic success and well-being. He manages uncertainty, risk, competing initiatives, and politics of change with courage and perseverance, providing support and encouragement and openly communicating the need for, process for, and outcomes of improvement efforts.

Mr. Guy Kovacs was named this year’s Washington State Middle Level Principal of the Year, and was also chosen to move forward as Washington state’s nominee for the National Association of Secondary School Principals  (NASSP) competition for National Principal of the Year. Having been a school administrator for 19 years (with six of those being at Kalles), Mr. Kovacs has a wealth of leadership knowledge and experience. In every building he has served, he has worked to create a culture that is centered on students. Mr. Kovacs believes that one of the best ways to help students is to help teachers. He has focused on providing effective professional development in areas like strong first-instruction, data-based decision-making, effective RTI efforts, and more. Mr. Kovacs believes schools should be fun and that students should have tons of options to be involved.