Daily High principal moving on

Allan F. Daily High School Principal Sherry Stockhamer, whom educators at the school say has infused alternative education in Glendale with a genuine sense of compassion for students, will leave the Glendale Unified School District at the end of June for an administrative position in another district.

Stockhamer, who started her career as a teacher with Glendale Unified in the early 1970s and has been the principal at Daily High for four years, has accepted a position to be the director of certificated personnel with the Desert Sands Unified School District, which covers areas such as Palm Desert, La Quinta and Indio.

In her new role, Stockhamer will help recruit as well as train new teachers and deal with employee grievances.

“I like solving people’s problems,” she said. “I like the challenge of that.”

While Stockhamer said she loves being principal at Daily High, the Desert Sands position offers new avenues for professional development and training.

“I have the best job in the whole world,” she said. “And it’s very hard to leave.”

Stockhamer taught subjects such as math, public speaking and drama at Wilson Middle School in Glendale. She worked as a counselor at Wilson and Rosemont middle schools and at Wilson as an assistant principal.

In addition to leading Daily High, an alternative school for students who are having trouble in the school district’s comprehensive high schools, Stockhamer also heads the handful of other specialized, alternative education programs in Glendale Unified.

The programs include Verdugo Academy, an independent study program for students who are on track academically but are in need of a school with a different schedule; Jewel City, a program for students who have had their expulsions suspended by the school board; and AdvancePath, a dropout recovery program for high school students.

Stockhamer said she has tried to foster a culture in the programs that is caring but academically rigorous.

At Daily High, for instance, the school uses community service to show students that they have much to offer the world, while the students learn from the same textbooks used at comprehensive high schools.

It’s to the school district’s credit that it uses so many tailored programs to serve the students, she said.

“They just try to reach down and get everyone,” Stockhamer said.

Stockhamer has led Daily High with a lot of heart, helping show students that there are adults who care about them, educators at the school said

“She’s got a unique kind of empathy,” said Marietta Guzzo, Daily High head counselor.

Stockhamer has also helped connect Daily High with the community, through projects such as the creation of the Unity Mural in partnership with Glendale Sunrise Rotary, Assistant Principal Carmen Labrecque said.

Under Stockhamer’s watch, Daily High received a six-year accreditation from the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges, an accrediting organization.

A six-year term is the “gold standard” of accreditation, Guzzo said.

For many students, Stockhamer is an adult who listens and tries to help.

“She does her best to understand what we need,” said Daily High student Brenda Figueroa, 18.