SAN DIEGO — Imagine getting called into the principal's office and asked if you want to go fishing.
In this Zevely Zone, I meet the 'Fishing Principal'.
You know me, I'm always trying to reel in a good story and this one really hooked me. I went to a fishing pier at the San Diego Bay and spotted a dude wearing a beanie. "Let's get these hooks in the water," the fisherman said.
The story that was pitched to me by a viewer had the makings of a Disney movie: A first-year principal arrives in San Diego and changes the lives of his students with fishing. When I shared that story angle with the dude wearing the beanie, he just stared at me and said, "Are we filming right now?"
I am sharing that awkward exchange with you because I found out Principal Ron Dyste from Urban Discovery High School is the last guy to ever 'fish' for a compliment.
With a big smile, he told me why he takes his students fishing. "They are coming from backgrounds where they don't have a lot of opportunities. I mean when I first met Brandon the first day, we were on our first field trip and he said Principal Dyste this is the first field trip I have been on in high school and I'm like what do you mean? He's like I'm a senior and I've never been on a field trip before," said Principal Ron Dyste.
17-year-old Brandon Chavez says, yeah, that dude wearing a flannel is 'off the hook'.
"He is like a father to me. I feel like he actually cares about building a genuine connection with his students and knowing his students," said Brandon.
Most of these kids, like Devin Villareal, have never been asked to go fishing. There's a first time for everything. How many principals have you seen hand a student a knife?
"Alright Ray, don't lose the knife in the water buddy," said Principal Dyste.
17-year-old Ray Lopez is cutting bait and hoping to catch a big one. "It's fun like, I don't know how to describe it because this is like the first principal to ever take us out and do stuff with," said Ray.
Before Ron became Principal Dyste, he dropped out of high school which is why he wants to navigate these kids away from troubled waters. "They live in downtown and a lot of them have never seen the ocean and never been fishing so just to be able to get them out and having experiential learning opportunities is the goal," said Principal Dyste.
17-year-old Jezalle Bravo told me he is the first principal she considers to be a friend. "He cares about us more than I feel like any other principal would, and like he actually cares about how we feel," said Jezalle.
Principal Dyste grew up fishing with his father, and these students are his kids. "When you feel it bite, you yank it back, you hook the little guy and bring it in, sound good?" said Principal Dyste. "This is who I am, that was me 25 years ago."
"For him to care so much about us kids, I just feel it is a wonderful thing," said Jezalle. Principal Dyste bought the rods and reels for the kids himself. For more information on Urban Discovery High School, click here.