Bierbaum Assistant Principal Selected for State Award

Assistant Principal Jeremy Booker arrives at Bierbaum Elementary School at 7:30 a.m. each weekday morning to head a school with approximately 600 kids, the largest elementary school in the Mehlville School District.

Booker deals with the school's day-to-day activities such as disciplining students, creating routines and expectations and communicating with faculty and staff.

These tasks, done well, earned Booker the Assistant Principal of the Year award by the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals (MAESP). 

“I got the e-mail saying I had won, and was shocked—it was really kind,” Booker said.

Booker was nominated by Bierbaum's principal, Kristy Roberts after the association sent out a call for nominations in its 13 statewide districts. Roberts wrote a nomination letter citing Booker’s dedication to children while in a leadership position as well as his strong work ethic.

Roberts said that Booker is a kind-hearted, enthusiastic educator. Students are often excited to see him walking down the hallways as he stops to ask about their day. Booker also created school-wide procedures for dicipline and behavior rules, noticibly improving student behavior, according to Roberts. 

"He is not afraid to be silly—such as wearing a Batman costume to promote a Superhero reading initiative or a buffalo hat to show his school spirit," Roberts wrote in his nomination letter. 

An Arnold native, Booker attended Jefferson College before getting his teaching degree at SEMO and then his master's degree at Southwest Baptist University.

Booker has been in education for 11 years. He started his career in the Herculaneum School District and moved to Blades Elementary School after one year, teaching fourth and six grade for eight years. This is his second year as Bierbaum's assistant principal.

His passion for children extends farther than the classroom. Booker and his wife Dawn have three children in Dean, 6; Dustin, 3; and 7-month-old Juliette.

“They know this is what I want to do, what I’m good at and my calling,” Booker said. “A lot of good traits have been passed on to me (from my parents). They’re the foundation I was built on.”

Booker joins 13 other Assistant Principals of the Year from all over the state, representing the St. Louis Suburban District. He will receive his award at the MAESP conference in March at Osage Beach, MO.