Today, she is the principal of Gem City Career Prep High School, an alternative high school experience that offers student, ages up to 21, an opportunity to earn a diploma.
“We are a recovery school and serve those who may be behind or at risk of not graduating,” Shepherd-Masey said. “We help students who may be dealing with various types of issues like homelessness, mental health, incarceration or becoming a single parent. We help give them brighter futures.”
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
James Zimmerman, who also works with Shepherd-Masey at the school, nominated her as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem.
“She works tirelessly to help students overcome a myriad of disadvantages that could get in the way of their graduation or career goals,” Zimmerman said. “She also displays the finest qualities – like compassion and honesty.”
For Shepherd-Masey, it’s all about the kids, which she says unequivocally, she “likes the most.”
“The school has been around for 15 years but had a different name when it opened,” Shepherd-Masey said. “But it’s always been a smaller demographic. I like the intimacy of that.”
Since Gem City Prep isn’t a traditional school, Shepherd-Masey has freedom to offer students unique programming, but she is also constantly working to ensure the school meets strict measures put in place by the state. Her school, and others like it, must meet the measures annually or they are at risk of being closed down.
“A public school will have different departments, and everyone just stays in their lanes,” Shepherd-Masey said. “At our school, I’m not only working on compliance, but sometimes in food service and sometimes in special events. I’m the person who has to guide those things and sometimes has to get them together.”
Wearing many different hats is just fine with Shepherd-Massey because it gives her more time to spend with the students and to hear their unique stories.
“I have students who come to us very young because their parents don’t want them in the traditional large public-school environment,” Shepherd-Masey said. “Then I have students who are the opposite and come from horrible backgrounds. I’ve had students who have been sex trafficked and have difficulty functioning, but they still want their diplomas.”
You won’t find Shepherd-Masey sitting behind a traditional principal’s desk behind closed doors. At the beginning of every school day, she sits in the front where students walk in so she can greet them and their parents.
“It’s different but it’s about staying humble,” Shepherd-Masey said. “The students know I’m tough but also that I’m fair. I can tell how their days are going as soon as they walk in in the morning. I love the success stories. When they come back and tell me about graduating from college and what they are doing as adults, those are the moments that keep me going.”
About the Author
