Chelan school Superintendent DePaoli earns Award of Merit

CHELAN - The yellow school buses in Chelan performed their intrinsic duty by transporting students on the opening day of school. Barry DePaoli, who had spent the past 15 years in education, found himself in an unusual situation during this annual fall ritual: on his knees in a motel room scraping stubborn linoleum off the floor. After teaching in his native British Columbia since 1981, DePaoli felt a familial obligation to move to Chelan to support his wife’s desire to own a motel. Working in that lonely motel room in September of 1996, emotions flooded him, upon realizing he would not be going to the schools to which the busses carried the children.  
“I was literally crying. It was first time I would not be in school,” said DePaoli, the Superintendent of Lake Chelan School District. “I thought to myself, ‘What have I done?’”
What he has done in nearly three decades of education is bring passion and experience to schools in both B.C. and Washington. His leadership landed DePaoli the Award of Merit from the North Central Washington Service District and the Washington Association of School Administrators. He received the honor at a June ceremony at Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee. The Award of Merit is given to those who make strong contributions to education and display leadership at the regional level.
“Barry is an exceptional leader who is focused on ensuring that every child has a high-quality public education,” said Dr. Michelle Price, the Superintendent of the NCESD. “During the last year, not only has he led the Lake Chelan School District as an inclusionary educational system where staff and students have a sense of belonging but also lead the regional superintendent professional learning, making a positive impact on staff and students in four counties.” 
The honor surprised DePaoli and gave him time to reflect on his educational path.
“It’s just been a really enjoyable career,” he said. “It’s been a long road.”
That road started at his alma mater, Stanley Humphries Secondary School where he taught social studies and physical education. Holding a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology, DePaoli has always believed in the physical and mental balance of students. In addition to teaching, he also coached tennis, volleyball and basketball.
While still owning and managing the motel with his wife, DePaoli returned to teaching including a year-long stint at Chelan’s Glacier Valley High School. From 2001-2006 he served as the Principal and Athletic Director at Chelan Middle School before working as the principal of Chelan High School from 2007-2016. Brad Wilson is the current principal of Chelan High School and looks up to DePaoli.  
“I consider him a mentor, and a really good thinker who always puts a lot of brain power and heart power into making the best decisions,” Wilson said. “He doesn’t micromanage, but he tries to help to meet challenges and meet goals and get better.”
Among the challenges that faced the Lake Chelan School District, and the entire world, was the COVID-19 pandemic. The school lockdowns which began in March of 2020 ambushed the education system and led to crucial on-the-fly adjustments. With new information coming in from the Department of Health on a near-weekly basis, schools moving to online and hybrid learning and the necessity of safety guidelines, DePaoli sought to find the best way to serve both his students and the general safety of the entire district.    
“We’ve become better educators as a result of some of the challenges we’ve had,” DePaoli said. “I think we’re a lot better at teaching the wholistic part of education, realizing that the social/emotional issues. are really important to students.”
Wilson feels that DePaoli’s attention to the individual leads to the health of the larger student body.
“He has a tremendous heart for each of the kids in our district. He tries to take into consideration what’s going to have the best impact on all kids when we make decisions,” Wilson said. “He really puts his heart and soul into it.”
Perhaps that’s why the tears flowed all those years ago on that motel room floor. Experiencing a brief pause from education, DePaoli realized why he began that pursuit in the first place: his students.
“That’s a lot of what keeps my bounce in my step is just continually trying to improve our system, make it better so that our kids can maximize their potential and really do well as they move forward in society.”