Please contact the contributing institution for more information regarding the copyright status of this object.
Description
In this oral history, retired teacher and principal Jim Derich recounts his 34-year tenure working in Mill Valley's public schools. Born in Sacramento in 1944, Jim describes growing up in a large extended family and spending summers working at a family-owned resort in the Sierras. After high school, where he met his future wife, Barbara, Jim went first to Cal Poly where he studied electrical engineering. Jim then transferred to San Francisco State University, changing his major to psychology and acquiring a couple of minors. Jim and Barbara married in 1966 while Jim was working on a teaching credential. The pair then moved to Mill Valley in the fall of 1968 when Jim got a job teaching kindergarten at Old Mill School while Barbara began working in the Dixie School District. Jim describes the transformation of elementary school education in Mill Valley that he was a part of in the 1960s and 1970s and evokes in fascinating detail a typical day in his classroom. He describes his transition from teaching to administration and recounts his work as principal first of Park School, then Old Mill, and finally Strawberry Point, from which he retired in 2002. Retirement gave Jim more time to focus on his hobbies, he notes, which include restoring classic Porsches, racing sports cars, and building his collection of vintage objects. Jim concludes this oral history with a discussion of his children and grandchildren, all of whom live in Mill Valley, and reflects on some of the changes he has seen in town over the decades and what it has meant to him to be part of this community.
Identifier
EE711CAE-E0AB-4DE8-A2FD-543783743063 2016.089.001
Subject
Chittenden, Lynda Collins, Jim Derich, Dan Derich, Katherine Derich, Mike Derich, Tim Derich, Zach Elementary school teaching Erskine, Dave Harder, John James, Kerry McDonough, Pat Miles, Logan Mill Valley Middle School Old Mill School Park School School administrators School principals Schools Teachers Teaching Teaching methods Trinklein-Engman, Claudia
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
