Terra Linda Elementary School’s principal and assistant principal were selected as award winners by the Jordan Association of Elementary School Principals. Yajaira Martinez was named Student Advocate Principal of the Year and Kirt Davis was named National Distinguished Assistant Principal of the Year.

“They've really got a powerful team over there doing a lot of good at Terra Linda,” JAESP committee member Garett York said. “The principal there is just consistently a rock star at everything. Yajaira’s name in these nominations comes up often so it wasn't surprising to see her here again. Kirt being there is just kind of the icing on the cake for Terra Linda. They already had a really strong setup that just got stronger. Kirt has obviously done a lot to endear himself to the faculty and employees of Terra Linda in just the short amount of time he's been there.”

The administrators were nominated by staff members, parents and colleagues. York said as the awards committee read through Davis’ nominations, they noticed a pattern.

“The common thread that runs through Kirt's nominations are his empathy, reliability and compassion—at least one of those three words appears in every nomination that was written for him,” York said. “You can tell that the ones who wrote nominations for Kirt are truly, truly grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside him.”

Martinez's nominations included detailed descriptions of what she has done for their school, for their students or for them personally. Standout phrases include "unwavering dedication,” “constant encouragement” and “genuine investment.” “You can't meet Yajaira without being impressed," York said.

Martinez and Davis said they make a great team because they share the same belief in the importance of building relationships.

“I think that we both really buy into the whole idea that students will learn when they feel loved and when they feel safe,” Martinez said. “And I love that we're both on the same page when it comes to that, because we're constantly modeling that for the staff, or at least we're trying to.”

Both administrators also focus on relationships with parents, the community and other stakeholders.

With the increased numbers of multilingual students, their response has been to build relationships. Since she became principal three years ago, Martinez has worked to make the Spanish speaking community feel welcome.

“I feel like more of our Spanish speaking community has gotten more involved, even if it's little things where they visit the office, they are willing to come talk to me,” she said. “That's huge for me personally, just because I feel like sometimes they just need someone to relate to, and I have seen an increase of our parents just being more open and feeling like school is home for them, too. So that's one thing I'm really proud of.”

They also take a positive and constructive approach to student behavior.

“We’re creating a culture of compassion and I think one way we try to do that, and we'll continue to try to do that, is rather than trying to make it a punitive thing, we’re trying to teach appropriate behaviors, trying to understand why behaviors are happening, and do that in a compassionate way that builds relationships rather than destroy them,” Davis said.

Other JAEPS award winners include Distinguished Principal of the Year - Jessica Stowe, Bastian Elementary; Rookie of the Year - Baylee Lansford, Jordan Hills Elementary; Innovator of the Year - Amy Adams, Fox Hollow Elementary; Community Leader of the Year - Buddy Alger, Heartland Elementary; School Improvement Leader of the Year - Keith Klein, Columbia Elementary; Principal Mentor of the Year - Ronna Hoffman, Oak Leaf Elementary; Instructional Leader of the Year - Melissa Beck, Jordan Ridge Elementary; and Principal Supervisor of the Year- Becky Gerber, JSD Administrator of Elementary Schools. λ