Page 18 - JOHN DIPAULA POY APPLICATION 2021

It only takes one minute to scan through the timeline of any Hammond
social
media
page to note the vast number of events that principal Dr. John
DiPaula
attends on a daily basis ranging from meetings, conferences,
celebrations,
concerts for
, field trips to athletic competitions. It doesn’t seem
humanly possible
one person, and it would be so easy to pawn off these
responsibilities to an
assistant presence
principal or staff member, but he believes there
is no substitute for
. And this is just one component of his
responsibilities as a high school
principal.
when
Further, he takes to Twitter to lift up students and staff,
and their accomplishments.
In 2019, Dr. DiPaula only a second-year principal at Hammond, was assigned two new Assistant Principals, which he happily took under his wing. He spent each day mentoring and coaching them through the rigors of becoming a high school administrator. Both have grown immensely and Dr. DiPaula continues to assist them through new challenges, such as the recent shift to virtual instruction due to the global pandemic.
Since the superintendent approved principals to open their schools and staff them with a lone administrator, DiPaula choses to work in the building daily to keep his finger on the pulse and to best understand the needs of our community. He gives his cell phone number out to all staff at the beginning of the school year and often includes it again with any sensitive email messages that he sends to staff. Dr. DiPaula is totally invested and available to support our staff and community 24/7.
Whether it be face-to-face or virtual, Dr. DiPaula works every night, either home or away, to build relationships with our community and to show support for our students and staff.
Given the number of activities on any single day, some of which may
conflict or
the
location might be off-campus, it is impressive how he can
function and focus.
Most folks would need to rely on their GPS, Calendar,
and Alarms to manage
this
chock-full schedule, but somehow Dr. DiPaula
makes it look effortless, and
this Principal is at a function, he is present
and fully engaged.