Lifetime of learning

When Gene Sementi was named Washington State Middle Level Principal of the Year in 2004 for his work at Centennial Middle School, he didn’t tell his wife. This time, though, he had to inform her to get her to attend the Nov. 7 conference where his latest award will be given.

“I didn’t say anything for a few days,” he confessed.

Sementi, now the assistant superintendent for instruction in the West Valley School District, will be given a Washington state Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development individual award for pursuing continual lifelong learning. West Valley superintendent Polly Crowley, who nominated Sementi for the award, wasn’t surprised at his reluctance to bring attention to his award.

“That just speaks to him being overall a humble person,” she said. “He is always thinking about the success of others, not the success of himself.”

Sementi said he was just grateful to be nominated, just as he was grateful to be nominated for teacher of the year by his principal at Centennial Middle School. “The fact that he thought enough of me to nominate me meant more to me than winning,” he said.

Sementi is in his 20th year at West Valley. He started out teaching math, science and physical education at Centennial, while also coaching volleyball and basketball at the middle school and football and softball at the high school. “I was a young teacher, so I had more energy than I do now,” he laughed. “All I ever wanted to be was a high school math teacher and coach.”

He taught math at the high school but found himself in a narrow window when a master’s degree was required for a teaching certificate. He got a master’s degree in school administration from the University of Idaho. “I like it,” he said. “I thought, ‘I can do this.’ ”

Sementi did an administrative internship at Centennial, then was assistant principal at the school for five years. He then spent two years as principal of Orchard Center Elementary, where he was given the Washington Award for Excellence in Education in 2001. “We were the most improved school,” he said.

He was named principal at Centennial, where he spent four years before becoming principal of the high school. Along the way he earned his superintendent credentials at the University of Idaho and has been assistant superintendent for four years. “I’ve had great mentors all the way through,” he said. “I just love working here in West Valley. You get to know so many people. It’s nice to walk in the grocery store and know half the people you see.”

Crowley wrote in her nomination letter that Sementi “is an energetic and dynamic leader known for his encompassing vision, hard work and ‘no excuses’ approach to setting and maintaining worthy goals for teaching and learning.”

“Every day I see the leadership role he takes in terms of instructional leadership,” she said. “Gene himself is such a willing learner. We talk about lifelong learning. It’s something that we talk about all the time but Gene’s a person who walks the talk.”

In the end, though, Sementi’s work is all about improving education for students, said Crowley. “He just really has that heart for kids. I watch him as he walks through the buildings. It’s amazing how many (students) he does know by name. It’s just very genuine.”