It is my pleasure to announce that we have hired a new principal to begin work in the 2009-2010 school year. Mr. Kevin Blissett comes to Shuren-Ribet with a wealth of experience both in international and U.S. education. Mr. Blissett has been involved in education as a principal, dean, teacher and coach for 18 years. His teaching expertise is in foreign language education, Secondary English, humanities, and philosophy. His administrative roles have included curriculum coordinator, department chairman, dean and principal. Additionally, Mr. Blissett served a number of years as an American football and track coach.

Mr. Blissett most recently comes to us from Xi’an where he served as the principal of a K-12 international school. During his time as principal in Xi’an, he initiated accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), gained International Baccalaureate Program Primary Years Program (IB PYP) candidacy, and begun the process of implementing the IB Middle Years Program. Moreover, he increased student enrollment by 50% three years in a row. Mr. Blissett’s high school graduates in Xi’an have gone on to study at respected universities in Canada, the United States, Australia, and China.

Mr. Blissett highly values education. His personal education led him to a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Philosophy from Brigham Young University in Utah, law study at Vanderbilt University School of Law in Tennessee, a master’s degree in Foreign Language Education and Linguistics from the University of Louisville in Kentucky, and he is now pursuing a second master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Mr. Blissett holds himself to the highest standards and expects the same from his students.

Mr. Blissett is very interested in classroom technology and will insist that all students have a firm grounding in the effective use of the newest internet technologies. He is likewise confident that he can solidify Shuren-Ribet’s curriculum in such a way that all students are well prepared to move on to study at any school or university in the world.

Shuren-Ribet would like to extend our deepest thanks to Principal Ernest Dailey for the hard work he has put in during his three years with us, and we wish him the best of luck in his future assignments.

Mr. Blissett looks forward to meeting all Shuren-Ribet stakeholders in the near future.