Kendyl Depoali - Class of 1968

Kendyl Depoali was born in 1950 in Reno, Nevada. She is a fourth generation Nevadan whose family traces its Sparks heritage back to 1906 when her great-grandfather moved to Sparks.

Sparks High School is a place that figures prominently in Kendyl Depoali’s memory. She graduated at the top of her class, being ranked third out of 450 students. Along with being in the Top Ten Senior Girls, she also won English and Science department. Mrs. Depoali graduated in 1968, and went to the University of Nevada, Reno to study. While there, she says she changed her major about a dozen times before finally graduating (With Distinction) with a political science major, and English, German, and secondary education as minors. While in college, she met her husband Harold Depoali and got married prior to her sophomore year. She continued her education, and got her Master’s Degree in Educational Administration in 1978. She recalls getting her degree in between children and even missing one test because she was in the hospital having a baby, clearly an excused absence.

After graduating, Mrs. Depoali began teaching for the Washoe County School District. She spent ten years each at Clayton Middle School and McQueen High School. Later she became assistant principal at Hug High School and then Curriculum Coordinator for the District. She was principal at Sparks High School for three years, innovating several new programs. Later she became Assistant Superintendent for High School Education, and finally Superintendent for Public Policy. Officially, this career has spanned thirty-three years. Unofficially, Kendyl Depoali has been with Washoe County School District since 1954, when she entered kindergarten.

She has been married for thirty-eight years, to Harold Depoali, also a graduate from SHS. They have two daughters, Christina and Michelle. Both of Mrs. Depoali’s daughters are married, and she has two grandchildren as well, Ben and Anna. In the words of their grandmother, “They are, of course, both smart and cute!”

Kendyl Depoali loved teaching, and enjoyed this position most in her long career with the Washoe County School District. Her feelings about teaching are best said in her own words, “it is an art and a science and is an extraordinarily creative process. You take subject matter and present it in a compelling, effective manner. When it works, it is a joy to behold.”

Inducted 2007