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The Online Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Siena Heights University
Katie Guilbault Decker ’89 Wins Big as Principal in Las Vegas
Katie Guilbault Decker ’89 has made learning fun again for stu-dents, teachers and parents at the Walter Bracken STEAM Academy in urban Las Vegas. As the recipient of the 2013 Magnet Schools of America Principal of the Year Award, Decker has transformed an underperforming, underprivileged school into one of the best in the state of Nevada.
But it wasn’t easy.
“It was a mess,” said Decker, who was assigned as its principal in 2001. “(Bracken) was one of the scariest schools in the district. Substitute (teachers) didn’t like to come here because SWAT used to practice here.”
Decker, who spent the previous 11 years as a teacher and an assistant principal in the Las Vegas area, saw an opportunity to improve the failing school. But not many shared her vision.
“It was definitely a challenge,” Decker said of the early resistance she encountered from teachers and parents.
“The staff that was here, their idea of instruction and my idea of instruction were very different.”
Almost immediately, Decker decided that Bracken would become a “magnet” school—one that remains a free public school but has a focused theme and aligned curriculum. Magnet schools use an approach to learning that is inquiry- or performance/project-based, and do not have entrance criteria; students are chosen from a blind lottery-based system.
Because of the shift to more of a science, technology, arts, engineering and mathematics (STEAM) curriculum, she required all of her existing teachers to re-apply for their jobs.
“Everyone interviewed for their positions,” Decker said. “I looked for teachers with science backgrounds. Those were my first picks for interviewing.”
“Best Homecoming ever!” We heard those words a lot this year. Lively reunions, big crowds, enthusiastic visitors to the new McLaughlin University Center, good food, energetic athletics, great theater and music and art: It was all here for Homecoming 2013!
Of course, we’re already working to make next year’s even better. So contact your “classmates fond and true.” Start planning now to revisit your “sweet golden days of dreams:”
Mark your calendar now for next fall’s Homecoming Weekend—September 26-28, 2014 and start planning your visit to the Heights!
Homecoming fun in the Octoberfest photo-booth! Allan Rodewald ‘80, Dan Tarrant ‘80, Joe Orange ‘82, Crystal Tennant, Susan Dougherty Nixon ‘78, Sherry Schudlich Forster (77-78), and Vicky DeSanto Clark ’79.
Mission Accomplished: McNair Graduate Matt Larson ’07 Completes PhD, a First for SHU-Based Program
Matt Larson
Matt Larson ’07 was the first, and hopefully, not the last. The graduate of the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program was the first Siena Heights University student to receive his doctorate since the program was instituted on the SHU campus.
Larson, who finished his dissertation and earned a PhD in criminology and criminal justice from Arizona State University last spring, is currently an assistant professor in the College of Public Health and Social Justice at St. Louis University.
“When I started at Siena I had no clue that I would go on to graduate school,” said Larson, a first-generation college student. “I was just thrilled to be pursuing my bachelor’s degree.”
In fact, Larson was perfectly content running on the track team and taking criminal justice courses until he discovered McNair, a federally funded program designed to encourage eligible students to pursue graduate studies leading to the completion of a doctoral degree.
“I found out about the McNair program at about the same time I started to fall out of love with running and in love with academics,” Larson said. “I knew at that point that graduate school was one of my options, so applying was a no-brainer.”
