Trinidad School District 1 plans meet-and-greet for new high school principal

Trinidad School District 1 is setting up a public introduction for its new Trinidad High School principal, Phil Dunker, and the timing matters. The meet-and-greet, scheduled for Monday, June 22 at Trinidad High School on 816 West Street, gives students, staff, families and other community members a chance to meet the district’s newest school leader before the next school year begins.

In a district where Trinidad High School serves 196 students in grades 9-12 and the overall enrollment stands at 762 across three schools, the principal’s role reaches well beyond day-to-day building management. The school’s 68.4% free-and-reduced-lunch rate also points to a student body with substantial needs, which makes leadership decisions on safety, academics and support services especially important for families watching how the campus is run.

The district is inviting residents to introduce themselves, ask questions and share what makes Trinidad special, a signal that the transition is meant to be public rather than handled quietly behind the scenes. That matters in Trinidad, a city of 8,329 in the 2020 census, and in Las Animas County, which had 14,555 residents. In a community that size, the principal is one of the most visible decision-makers in daily school life, and parents often judge new leadership by how quickly it shows up, listens and communicates.

Dunker will also be stepping into an administrative structure that already includes assistant principal Samantha Archer at Trinidad High School. The district’s board includes Brett Duran, Claudia Trujillo, Diane Montoya, Bobby Warren, Selina Vallejos and Yvette Dominguez, giving the school another layer of oversight as the new principal settles in. District records also show that Trinidad High School and Fisher’s Peak Elementary School have active bullying-prevention programs through the BPEG grant, a sign that student culture and safety remain active concerns inside the system.

The larger district picture adds more context. Trinidad School District 1 named Olivia Bachicha as sole finalist for superintendent in June 2025, and the district’s 2023 performance framework rating was Accredited with Improvement Plan. For families headed into a new school year, the meet-and-greet is less about ceremony than about accountability: it is the first public test of how Dunker will help shape expectations at a school that sits at the center of Trinidad’s civic life.