By Jolene Farley
Hills native Doug Deragisch has been named Middle School Principal of the Year by the Minnesota Association of Secondary Principals.
Deragisch, Marshall’s middle school principal, beat out seven other candidates to represent Minnesota in national competition in Washington, D.C.
Deragisch was notified Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Winter Work Shop in Minneapolis that he was the winner.
The MASP is an association of high school and middle school principals in Minnesota.
"It’s a great honor and I appreciate it very much," he said. "It’s recognition for the entire, in my case, the building. I want to give teachers, staff and the superintendent credit for what they’ve done here in Marshall."
Under Deragisch, the Marshall Middle School has evolved from traditional to block class scheduling.
Interdisciplinary teaming, a teaching technique, is now used by the teachers. Teachers build on topics in different subject areas. For instance, if the topic is the 50’s and 60’s, items pertaining to the same era would be taught in music, history, English, etc.
"We switched from a junior high philosophy to a true middle school philosophy," he said. "It’s knowing the middle school student, what makes them tick. … We have to help develop a program to fit the students needs instead of trying to make them fit our needs."
For the state competition, Deragisch answered four written questions. One question asked what major change in a school system he was involved with. In his answer, he detailed the switch to a true middle school at Marshall.
Deragisch, the son of Doris Deragisch Blom and the late Dean Deragisch, graduated from Hills-Beaver Creek High School in 1981. He earned a teaching degree from the University of Sioux Falls.
He taught eighth through eleventh-grade social studies at Storden-Jeffers after earning his degree. He coached volleyball, basketball and track and was a drivers’ education instructor.
After four years of teaching, Deragisch decided to return to college for a master’s degree in administration. He continued to teach at Storden-Jeffers while furthering his education.
When the school consolidated with another, he was squeezed out of a job.
He landed a job as the assistant principal at Worthington Junior High for two years before accepting the position in Marshall.
In addition to his junior high school duties at Marshall, this year Deragisch added fifth-and sixth graders to his roster.
"I enjoy the kids," he said. "I enjoy the spontaneity of them. They’re very excited about school."
Doug married another Hills native, Danette Hadler, and they have three children.
