David “DJ” Graham might be a new face to some at Fountain Hills High School this year but the new assistant principal has worked with many in the Falcon family before.

Graham was born and raised in Arizona where his education path took him through the Paradise Valley Unified School District. There he attended schools such as Vista Verde, where he was under the guidance of then principal and former Fountain Hills Unified School District Superintendent, Patrick Sweeny.

“Dr. Sweeny and I got to know each other through that,” Graham said. “I was really involved with the band and he would go to the concerts and all that.”

Graham would later get the chance to actually work with Sweeny at PVUSD when he was a teacher and Sweeny the assistant superintendent.

For his college education, Graham is a self-professed “Sun Devil through and through.”

When he first started attended ASU, it was to receive a degree in English with aspirations of law school afterward.

“The thought of law school didn’t last long, though.” Graham said.

Coming from a family of educators, Graham has seen firsthand the impact a good teacher can have.

“I have always valued education,” Graham said. “It is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I love to learn, and being able to share that seemed like a natural fit.”

Graham switched his major over from English to special education, a move that made his family very happy.

“There was never any pressure to go into it,” Graham said. “My mom loves being a teacher and to her it is one of those things, when you go into this profession you have to be passionate about it. So when I told her she was ecstatic about it.”

When Graham graduated he knew that he wanted to continue pursuing his own education, but first he spent a year focused on his “craft” at Shea Middle School.

“It was an eighth grade resource class; I taught students English, math and study skills,” Graham said. “I loved it. It was a really fantastic job. Working with the students was great. Middle school is oddly an area people avoid but I really enjoyed it.”

During his time teaching Graham also got to know more people he would later work with at FHUSD, like current principal Dr. Jagodzinski.

“Dr. J and I taught together at Sunrise Middle School,” Graham said. “We both taught social studies and he later became [assistant principal] there.”

Dr. J said he is looking forward to the skills that Graham will bring to FHHS.

“DJ will be an asset to our district as he will oversee the AP Capstone program at FHHS and provide innovative instructional strategies to teachers,” Jagodzinski said.

Graham went back to ASU to get a Master’s degree in Gifted Education.

Gifted Education focuses on those students that learn differently than others.

“When you look at gifted you are looking at students that show a great deal of potential,” Graham said. “Traditionally, you’re looking at students in the 97 percentile. A lot of it comes down to students learning differently. It’s taking students that have limitless potential and helping them get as far as they can go.”

This is Graham’s first job on the administrative side of education and his goal for the year is to help students achieve their goals.

“One of the big things I am looking to do is work with students and help them get through high school,” Graham said. “A big thing of growing up is learning from our mistakes, and everyone makes mistakes. So a big part of what I want to do is work with students who make mistakes and help them learn from those mistakes.”