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Show T Mountain High's principal steps down after 11 years KA YS VILLE When an unruly unru-ly or troubled student is sent to Mountain High School, he's taken into the director's office. There, he is introduced to the principal not a severe-looking authority figure with a yardstick, but Vi Palmer, who's more on the soft-spoken and gentle side. While these students may at first underestimate Palmer, her social-worker social-worker skills often help her earn their respect sometimes even their friendship. Palmer, 66, is retiring this week after being the school's only director direc-tor since the Davis School District opened it in 1976. It's a farewell of mixed feelings of students, staff and the director of this small alternative high school in Kaysville. "It's sad and also exciting," Palmer Pal-mer said. "It's maybe a little sad that I won't be a part of it (the new administration)," admi-nistration)," she said, "because it is a real important program and you can't work with these kids every day without being close to them." The closeness between the director and her 260 students is the school's trademark. For many students, Mountain High is their last chance at a high school diploma. At their regular high schools, these students have had their three strikes. But here, they are given a last chance and receive more personalized per-sonalized attention and counseling. coun-seling. Palmer has been a major part of this effort. "We're based on the concept of equality that everybody has an equal right to be respected, and that goes for kids as well as faculty," facul-ty," she said. "And we're committed commit-ted to the idea of choice you have to be responsible for your own choices, your own behavior." Palmer has a master's degree in social work and about 40 years of experience. She's not your ordinary ordin-ary principal, either, maintaining an "open-door" policy and willingness willing-ness to counsel students along with her administrative duties. And, unlike other principals, Palmer said she has had relatively few problems with students over the years. "The kids here, I don't know that I've ever felt better respect from anybody," she said. "Sometimes "Some-times people are surprised at that, because they have a reputation of not caring or being disrespectful. But I think when you give respect, you receive it." Palmer credits her staff and the students for the school's successes. succes-ses. But others district officials, students and staff sing her praises. "She individualizes people instead in-stead of looking at everyone as a group," said Stacy Westfall, a junior. "She's been just great," said Danny Love, a senior. "Maybe we'll get lucky and have someone like her again." Other students say Palmer gives them choices instead of telling them what to do. And they add she's been fair, yet strict and, most importantly, has been their friend: Judy Nixon, Mountain High's social worker, said Palmer has been the "epitome of a social worker" and will be greatly missed. "As far as working with kids, she always looks out for the student's stu-dent's interest" Nixon said. "The number one thing has been with kids. She has such excellent skills, she's going to be very much missed here." Milt Shaum, Davis School District Dis-trict student personnel director, hired Palmer about 16 years ago as a social worker. He said he never has regretted the decision. "Vi Palmer is unequaled," he said. "She is the best social worker, work-er, working with people, that I know. And in reference to Mountain Moun-tain High School, she is irreplaceable." irreplace-able." Palmer, an Ogden resident, grew up in Glenwood, a small fanning town near Richfield. She attended the University of Utah in the late 1930s and worked at Hill Air Force Base as a welfare counselor during World War II. Later, she earned her master's degree in social work at the Uni- ', versity of California-Berkeley. Re- i' turning to Utah, she worked for , many agencies as a social worker, including a stint at the state Indust- -J. rial School in Ogden. She started work for the Davis ' School District about 1970. As for her future, Palmer said . she wants to concentrate on writ-ing writ-ing on a few "crusades," including child abuse. She also maintains a cabin near Pineview Reservoir where she likes to oil-paint, sew 2' and knit. ', She also might visit her beloved ' Mountain High once in a while ' but it could be a difficult experi- " ence. Palmer recalls asking a former -student to come back to visit the school. He refused. "That was an unusual response '' and I asked why, and he said,-; "You don't go back, Vi." "I've thought about that a lot of '.' times, and while I would probably come back, the kids won't remem- '' ber me and the school will go on . and develop in new directions . And that will be good." , |
