Administration

Derrick Lawson

PRINCIPAL: DERRICK LAWSON

Principal Derrick Lawson is the first alumnus of Indio High School to return and serve as principal. He was born and raised in Indio and is a proud graduate of the Indio High School Class of 1980 as a K-12 DSUSD student. In addition to his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from California State University, San Bernardino, he taught for the University’s Teacher preparation program. He taught at Jackson, Roosevelt, and Monroe Elementary Schools as well as Wilson Middle school before becoming a Principal at Kennedy Elementary and later opened two new schools: Johnson Elementary and Paige Middle School. He returned to Indio High School in 2016. The 2024-2025 school year marks his 40th year in education.  

Joshua Alvarez

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL:

JOSHUA ALVAREZ

Mr. Alvarez began his educational career at Indio Middle School as band director in 2009 and served the students and families for 11 years. At IMS, he was involved on campus as a Yearbook Advisor, Associated Student Body Director, Department Lead, and DSTA Rep. In 2019 he transferred to Child Welfare and Attendance to serve as an attendance facilitator and then moved to Thomas Jefferson Middle School in 2021 to become the new instructional coach and was there for three years where he had the opportunity to build relationships with staff, students, and families. He worked as the MTSS lead and was very involved at a campus-level in implementing new activities that supported all students. Outside of education, he also serves the Thermal and Oasis community as Pastor of Oasis Apostolic Church. His wife and four children are proud to be new members of the Rajah family at Indio High School.

Aimee Druyon

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: 

AIMEE DRUYON

Aimee Druyon was born and raised in Indio and is a proud graduate of the Indio High School Class of 1995. After high school she attended College of the Desert and California State University, Fullerton where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology. Once she graduated from college, she eagerly returned to the desert to begin teaching at Indio High. Since beginning her career in education 19 years ago, she has taught in both the Physical Education and Social Studies departments at Indio as well as been the Activities Director and an Instructional Coach. As an Assistant Principal she now oversees the Counseling Department, Instruction, and Student Activities.

Monica Rodriguez

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: 

MONICA RODRIGUEZ

Mrs. Rodriguez has been in education for 13 years. She started her teaching career in the Coachella Valley Unified School District where she taught Language Arts. She was eager to return home to Indio High School, her alma mater. She started teaching English at Indio High School in 2006. While at IHS, she has served as English Department Chair, WASC Coordinator, and Project Facilitator before becoming an Assistant Principal in 2013. Mrs. Rodriguez oversees State and Federal Projects, the English Learner program, and Assessment & Accountability.

Jessie Ruiz

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: 

JESSIE RUIZ

Jessie Ruiz is a proud IHS graduate, class of 1989. She earned her BA degree in English from the University of California, Davis and her MA from Cal State, San Bernardino. Her educational career began as a teacher at Cesar Chavez Elementary, then she came to Desert Sands in 2001 as a Bilingual Teacher at Eisenhower Elementary. From there she continued her career as a Project Facilitator in State and Federal Programs working with English Learner Programs. In 2012, Ms. Ruiz came to IHS as the Instructional Coach where she trained teachers on best instructional practices and served in that position for ten years. In her current role as an Assistant Principal, she oversees CTE programs, Attendance, English Learners, and AVID. She is very excited to serve in that role.


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