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Leadership

Scott Lawrence

Scott Lawrence

PRINCIPAL MIDDLE SCHOOL

I am proud to be the principal of the amazing staff and students at Shea Middle School.  My mission is to create environments where people can do their best work. We do that at Shea through building quality relationships with our community and holding our students to high expectations in academic growth and social/emotional learning.  

I have close to 25 years of experience in education and the arts, most of that at the middle school level. I have my Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Arizona and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. I have taught band/choir/drama from Kindergarten-12th grades. I have been an administrator since 2013, serving as a grant manager, assistant principal, and principal.  I have four children of my own, one of which is starting his career this year as a 6th grade math teacher!

Outside of school, I serve as the board chairman of a non-profit theater company and has acted and directed in productions with that organization throughout the years. I also keep active in music composition, composing music for short films and commercials.  

I am grateful for the opportunity to work in the Shea community.  Please feel free to contact me at school if you need anything.  

In Your Service,

Scott Lawrence

Joey Ruppel

Joey Ruppel

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL MIDDLE SCHOOL
Shea Middle School, All Shea Staff

Welcome to Shea Middle School! I am starting my second year in the Paradise Valley Unified School District as the Assistant Principal here at Shea. I am excited for the upcoming school year and continuing to work with the tight knit community at Shea. I look forward to building lasting relationships and welcome all who would like to stop in, whether I can help to resolve a concern or if you just want to say "hello". I am dedicated to ensuring that each student has a positive school experience in order for them to reach their highest potential. I would like to continue using my background and experience to enhance the collaborative teamwork at Shea Middle School. During my experience here, we implemented PBIS, school-wide AVID strategies, as well as restorative practices and I’m very excited to continue much of the same work here with the Shea staff.

I began my educational career after graduating from Metro State University of Denver in 2004 with a Bachelor of Art in Behavioral Science. I worked for 14 years in Jefferson County Public Schools located on the west side of the metro area in Denver, Colorado. I worked at Wheat Ridge Middle School initially as a Social Studies teacher and eventually transitioned into a position as an AVID teacher for both 7th and 8th grade students. In December of 2012 I graduated from the University of Colorado with a Master’s Degree in Administration and Policy Studies. After getting my graduate degree, I accepted a position as an instructional coach at O’Connell Middle School and worked closely with staff to self reflect and plan effective teaching strategies. I was then offered a position as an assistant principal at Green Mountain High School in the fall of 2015 and served in that position for three years. During the summer of 2018, my family and I made the big move to the Phoenix area to be closer to my parents, who have lived in the Phoenix area since 1998. Since then, I have found a very special connection to the city. 

My husband and I have four children. My two older kids were inherited when I married my husband and are 22 and 19, both living closer to their mother in Wisconsin. Our two younger ones are 8 and 10 and attend Desert Cove Elementary. I look forward to continuing to enjoy all of the experiences that Arizona has to offer especially the warm winter hikes and the Cactus League Spring Training games, but what I am most looking forward to is working with the heart of the Shea community, our students.

- Joey Ruppel