Partnership Principal Glen Clark

     Glen R. Clark, principal, American Fork High School, Alpine, Utah, finds being a principal an exciting profession.

     “The job is totally unpredictable, and that’s what makes it exciting,” says Clark, the current Utah Principal of the Year. “And there are opportunities to help kids every day, which assures that there are ample rewards.”

     Clark has a long record of serving the principalship. He has just completed a four-year stint on the NASSP Board of Directors, served for two years on the Executive Board of the National Association of Student Councils, was president of the Utah Association of Secondary School Principals (UASSP), and was UASSP’s federal relations representative. Additionally, Clark was named Administrator of the Year by the Utah Music Educators Association this year, Principal of the Year by the Utah Association of Student Councils in 1997-98, and received the Utah PTA Golden Apple Award in 1999.

     In his nine years as principal at American Fork, Clark has worked to create a “focus on individual students,” which has contributed to the school’s strong academic reputation. .American Fork is a comprehensive 10-12 school with approximately 1,400 students

     “We know that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to learning programs for young people,” said the former science teacher. “We strive to make sure that all students see that they are unique individuals. Each day teachers, coaches, and hopefully administrators can make an impact on students.”

     That individual attention played an important role four years ago when attendance boundaries were changed in the Alpine School District.

     “With creation of new boundaries, a new geographic area was brought into American Fork and many of those people would have preferred going to another school,” Clark recalls. “We set out to emphasize the individual approach.”

     Educators at American Fork met ninth graders who would be coming to their school the following year and gave each a signup list for co-curricular activities. The ninth graders completed the forms, which were then given to coaches, sponsors, and booster club members.

     “Each ninth grader was to receive a call from someone at American Fork representing that co-curricular activity and welcoming him or her to the new school,” Clark said. “It’s really impressive for a ninth grader to receive a call from the captain of the football team.”

     Building the focus on the individual at American Fork took leading by example, according to Clark, who has also been a junior high principal.

     “We didn’t proclaim an edict; rather the administrators set an example,” he explained. “When the administrative team buys into the individual approach, teachers see the advantage of it. It’s a subtle thing we are doing to make every kid successful.”

     And students have been successful at American Fork as evidenced by the number of National Merit semi-finalists and finalists, the number of state-sponsored Sterling Scholars, and the ACT preparation program, among other measurements.

     About two years ago, educators at American Fork brought a new emphasis to ACT prep, according to Clark because “the ACT helps to determine three things for students—which college they can attend, whether they will receive scholarships and whether they have to take remedial courses in college.”

     “We believe that high school students should master high school material at their high school,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to pay tuition to take remedial classes once they enter college.”

     Among other successes at American Fork:

• An Advanced Placement program that offers between 18 and 20 classes.   Approximately 35 percent of the seniors last year took at least one AP class.
• A marching band which regularly earns top honors in the state.
• A science program that produced three projects that were entered in the   International Science Fair last year.

More information about American Fork High school can be found at www.afhs.alpine.k12.ut.us.