The Utah Association of Secondary School Principals (UASSP), whose mission is to recognize, promote, and enhance the leadership of Utah’s secondary school administrators, has selected Utah’s high school and middle level school principals of the year for 2025. The four winners were notified and presented with their awards by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson at the UASSP Mid-Winter Conference held in January.
The 2025 Secondary School Principals of the Year are:
Shauna Haney of Ogden High School: Shauna Haney began her teaching career at Bonneville High School in March of 1994. In 1996, she moved to Northridge High School and remained there until 2015 with the exception of one year of teaching and coaching at Dixie State University. Her teaching experience includes; special education, health, exercise science, emergency response, human development, and physical education activity and fitness classes. Between 1994 and 2019, she coached soccer, basketball, volleyball and served as the assistant athletic director for nine of those years. She was awarded the High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year award in both 2008 and 2013. She also earned the Distinguished Service award for outstanding service as the 5A Coach of the Year in 2014. In 2015, Shauna moved to North Davis Junior High School, where she was an assistant principal for three years. She moved to Ogden High School in 2018 as an assistant principal for two years. Shauna took over as the principal in 2020, a role she continues to hold.
She is a dedicated instructional leader whose passion for coaching has remained steadfast throughout her career. She takes great pride in serving her role at Ogden High School, where she values the adults in her building and firmly believes that hiring the right people and placing them in the right positions are critical in fostering student success.
Matthew Patterson of Mountain View Junior High. This middle level principal of the year is from Weber School District and has enjoyed every minute of his 22 years in education, holding roles such as science teacher, assistant principal, curriculum specialist, and principal for the past seven years. Most recently, it was his honor and privilege to open the brand-new Mountain View Junior High School in West Haven, Utah. Known for his intentional leadership, Matthew is deeply passionate about nurturing and supporting students and staff, and he finds joy in seeing their success. This passion is driven by his belief that every person deserves a name, a face, a voice, and a purpose. At the heart of his leadership lies an unwavering belief in the power of relationships. He tirelessly connects with students and staff, fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment, and creating a shared commitment to student success.
Jared Christensen of Delta High School. This year’s high school assistant principal of the year, Jared Christensen, has been in education for 15 years. He started teaching seventh grade science at Sunrise Ridge Intermediate before teaching chemistry and biology at Desert Hills High School. He then had the opportunity to move back to his hometown of Delta and teach biology, chemistry, and physics. Jared has been at Delta High School for the past 11 years, where he has been an assistant principal for the last five years.
ConnieTrue Simons of Midvale Middle School. This educator from Canyons School District has been named Middle Level Assistant Principal of the Year. ConnieTrue Simons started her teaching career at Albion Middle School back in 2000, and she has been a passionate middle level educator ever since. During the last 25 years, she has been a classroom teacher, an instructional coach and, for the last six years, an assistant principal. ConnieTrue loves middle schoolers because she believes they are at an age when students really start to come into their own as individuals and become more complex thinkers.
Each of these principals will be presenting at the UASSP Summer Conference. They will also be honored at a future Utah State Board of Education board meeting and by the National Association of Secondary School Principals in Washington DC later this year. Congratulations to these exemplary principals.
