Dr. Charles Young and the Benicia School Board is excited to announce two new additions to the Benicia Middle School staff. Ms.Lindsay Dalske joins the staff as the new principal and Ms. Faith Shaw as the new vice principal.
Lindsay Dalske has served as the Vice Principal at Benicia Middle School for the past 8 years and lives in our community, so you may run into her at the softball field or grocery store on the weekends. She grew up in town and attended Benicia Middle School and graduated from Benicia High. She went onto complete her bachelors and teaching credential at Saint Mary’s College and Master’s degree at Touro University. She began her career in education as a middle school history teacher in Vacaville, and sincerely enjoys middle school kids. Lindsay has two daughters, one at BMS and the other at Matthew Turner Elementary.
Lindsay has been an integral part of implementing student-centered instructional approaches, which promote independent learning and support student voice and choice. She has been working with BMS staff on developing Teams to encourage collaboration across grade levels. Her work with the English, Social Science, and other departments have been exemplary. Lindsay’s demeanor and “get it done” attitude and nature are well liked by everyone. Lindsay has developed positive relationships with students, staff, and parents. As part of the District Leadership Team, Lindsay serves on different district-wide committees and always looks for ways to bring team members together.
Lindsay is eager to continue to support the students of Benicia Middle School in her new role as principal.
Faith graduated from Sacramento State University with a BS in Physical Education and received her single subject teaching credential. She earned a Masters in Educational Leadership in 2016 along with her Administrative Credential from Touro University. She has been teaching at Benicia Middle School for the past 23 years. She is married and is a mom to two boys who attend Mary Farmar. During her tenure at BMS she has taught over 4600 students and has been an athletic director, to the activities director, coaching volleyball, basketball, and held after school clubs she has always made students a priority. Faith has been the department chair for PE for over 10 years and has been a part of the school leadership team. She took on the lead for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) where she facilitated discussions with staff and was a communicator between the PBIS team, PTSA, and school colleagues. Faith has been a part of Site Council, led professional development for her department, school, and District.
She served as the Summer School Principal in 2016 and 2017 in BUSD and will serve this summer as both Benicia Summer School and Extended School Year Principal. She has been a mentor teacher for many years for both the BTSA/Induction programs which she has found truly rewarding. When asked, Faith steps in as teacher in charge when one of the administrative team is out of the office. In her spare time, she loves to watch her boys play competitive soccer, craft, create, and stay up late. You can find out what she is up to by looking at her Pinterest boards.
She is excited to serve the school as Vice-Principal. She looks forward to continuing to build relationships with students, staff, and parents. Congratulations to both!