Lewis-Clark State honors Trent Derrick as alumnus of the year

An assistant superintendent in the Coeur d'Alene School District has been honored by his alma mater.

Trent Derrick, Coeur d'Alene's assistant superintendent of secondary education, is the recipient of Lewis-Clark State College's 2024 Outstanding Alumni award.

"I was very surprised to be nominated and humbled as well," Derrick said Tuesday. "This recognition is shared with so many great people that I have had the privilege of working alongside of in the Lakeland and Coeur d'Alene school districts. Being in education is a honorable profession, and I know we are often criticized, but I can't think of a greater compliment then to be called a school teacher or school administrator."

Derrick began his education at Multnomah University in Portland, where he graduated with an associate degree in biblical education in 1987. After teaching at Damascus Christian School for four years, he returned to the classroom to pursue a teaching degree at LCSC. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1996 with an emphasis on secondary education. Derrick went on to teach science at Lakeland High School. While teaching at Lakeland, he earned a master’s degree in education administration from Gonzaga University, then became Lakeland's lead principal in 2016. In 2022, Derrick was appointed to an assistant superintendent position with the Coeur d’Alene School District.

“When I went LC, I grew to appreciate all the opportunities that were made available to me at a smaller state school," Derrick said in a biography that was shared during the recognition ceremony, which took place Friday on the North Idaho College campus.

"I suppose that it all goes back to the faculty — their dedication and love of learning was clear," Derrick said. "I suppose they passed that love of learning down to their students, which helps explain why I chose a career in teaching.”

Throughout his career in education, Derrick has always viewed service learning as a cornerstone to building strong students, his biography reads. Gonzaga recognized him for this service learning with the Jeanne Foster-Wardian Leadership in Education award, where he was also recognized at the White House.

"He has been an innovator and state leader in high school sports with the Lakeland High School Hall of Fame and cross-cultural high school exchange programs," the biography reads. "More recently, he has been involved with developing the Idaho Digital Learning Academy and creating secondary learning pathways for Coeur d’Alene High School students."

Derrick said LCSC runs deep in his family. His wife's great-grandmother, grandmother, father and mother all graduated from LCSC.

"Although my wife did not graduate from there, she married me. And since then, we have two sons, a daughter-in-law and future daughter-in-law who have all graduated from there as well," Derrick said.

He said LCSC provides a high-quality education at an affordable price. 

"They view their students as valuable and they personally invest in each one," he said. "When I went there, I was considered a non-traditional student and was hungry to learn everything I could. I was able to personally get to know all my professors and spent numerous hours in class and out of class in conversations with them. This is the value of an LCSC education."