Kenai Middle School’s Dan Beck was named the 2020 State of Alaska Assistant Principal of the Year by the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals.

Homer Middle School Principal Kari Dendurent was also named the Region III Principal of the Year.

“It is great to be involved in a career that I love, and I wake up each morning feeling good about going to work,” Beck said in a Tuesday press release from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. “As a school principal, there is so much variety in my work, and two days are never the same. I really enjoy that I am not in a position that requires me to do the same things over and over, day after day. I enjoy my interactions with students, and I am hopeful that I am making a positive impact on the students who I have worked with over the years.”

Ten years ago, Kenai Middle School’s principal, Vaughn Dosko, also held the title for Alaska’s Assistant Principal of the year.

“It is a great pleasure to mentor and work with Dan on a daily basis for the past nine years,” Dosko said in the district’s release. “Our administration styles mesh in a way that we are able to draw the best out in each other. Dan’s effort and passion for Kenai Middle is on display each and every day. Dan Beck is one of the many reasons why KMS is the great place it is today.”