Idaho Falls High School Principal Christopher Powell named Idaho principal of the year

Idaho Falls High School Principal Christopher Powell has been named as principal of the year by the Idaho Association of Secondary School Principals.

Powell said it was deeply humbling to even be nominated and just goes to show how well everyone is working together at the school.

“It’s recognition for our students, our parents, our teachers, our counselors, our district office,” Powell said. “Because if you don’t have all of those things pulling in the same direction, then there’s probably another school that does.”

He grew up in Delaware. He said a job as a PE teacher just fell in his lap, even though he didn’t have a degree in teaching. After his first three years as a teacher, he felt burned out and thought he was done with education.

But after a summer passed, he decided to pursue it. Powell moved to Los Angeles, received teaching credentials, and started teaching science. He worked as a teacher and athletic director.

Powell started his first position in school administration in 2011 in a small California town called Mammoth Lakes. Powell and his wife Jackie wanted more opportunities for their children than the remote 7,000-person town could offer, so they moved to Idaho Falls.

Powell started as principal of Eagle Rock Middle School in 2019.

Now he’s entering year four as principal of Idaho Falls High School. He said he loves his job.

Idaho Falls School District Superintendent Karla LaOrange said Powell has fostered a strong community at the high school. She said he relates well to students and parents. One district employee’s daughter attends the school and calls Powell her “homie.”

Over his career, Powell said he’s worked in schools that weren’t as friendly, and with teachers that weren’t as professional. But here he’s seen a high level of professionalism.

He said even if conversations are contentious among school staff, it doesn’t spill into the classrooms. He said those he’s worked with take a great personal responsibility to educate students.

Powell said he’s proud of Idaho Falls High School’s environment. He’s proud of how staff work together through challenges, decide on solutions, and support each other on whatever is decided. He wants parents to feel welcome in the process too, as their feedback is important.

Attendance was 93% last year and teacher retention has also been high. Powell said he thinks it’s a good sign.

But there’s always room for improvement. Powell said as the district implements the intervention model, he hopes to address a number of students failing classes. He said at one point last year there was a 21% failing rate in classes. The school hopes to keep that below 15% this year.

As the Post Register previously reported, the intervention model has district middle school and high school students only attend class on Fridays if they have bad grades or are taking particularly advanced classes. It gives failing students time to improve grades and teachers time to assess the needs of their classes.

The high school looks to have about 1,300 students this year. As the school year starts up, Powell said there is some anxiety among education staff to comply with recent legislation.

This includes new state laws policing library content and requiring parents to give permission for students to receive any kind of non-life threatening medical service or be called anything other than their legal name. The Post Register will do more reporting on local changes from state laws in the coming days.

Powell said he hopes the laws don’t cause as much turmoil as some fear. He’s noticed education has been subject to a lot more laws than it used to and has a lot more scrutiny.

“Since I started, the education arena has now become a centerpiece of culture wars,” Powell said. “And that’s hard because it’s one organization where you have vast diversity of thought.”

While school can’t always be perfect, he said it does its best to teach students from various backgrounds to think critically and expose them to diversity, as they will have to navigate it in their adult life.

While the high school facility isn’t in great shape, Powell said the student-teacher relationships matter the most.

“Idaho Falls High School is a great place,” Powell said. “It’s a great place for kids. It’s a great place for teachers. It’s a great place for administrators. And I know for myself, I feel really fortunate to be here.”