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DR. JOHN DIPAULA PRINCIPAL HAMMOND HIGH SCHOOL BIOGRAPHY
Dr. John DiPaula has spent the last 24 years supporting children as an educator, counselor, coach, principal, central office administrator, and professor. As a former school counselor, DiPaula understands that students’ physiological, safety, and belonging needs must be met before students are abletofocusonmaximizingtheirlearning. Overhislast3years as principal at Hammond High School, DiPaula has supported the development of food pantry, coat, hat, and glove drives, and focused on intentionally building student-staff relationships.
DiPaula spends the majority of his days in classrooms observing learning and in hallways modeling relationship-building with students. He believes firmly in the need to model the behavior that he expects from staff and students. Under his leadership, Hammond High School has shown significant increases in graduation rate, SAT scores, and college and career readiness, as well as massive decreases in student suspension rates. DiPaula credits relationships and engaging instruction for these critical gains.
Hammond High School gained national recognition in 2018 as a School of Opportunity by the National Educational Policy Center. This recognition is given to schools who are significantly impacted by poverty, yet are successful in using research-based instructional practices to close the achievement gap.