Cheryl Domenichelli remembers standing in a field off Lammers Road alongside a small farmhouse. Four years later in the same place, she’s proud to be getting the first senior class at Tracy’s newest high school ready for graduation.

Others have recognized the strides she’s made, too. In her fourth year as principal of Kimball High School, Domenichelli has been named Region VII Secondary Principal of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators.

“I was honored. It’s very nice to know that your colleagues think highly of the work you’re doing,” Domenichelli said this week.

Domenichelli won the award for the organization’s Region VII, which represents school leaders across San Joaquin, Amador, Calaveras, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties. Statewide, the organization covers more than 16,000 school administrators.

Domenichelli joined the Tracy Unified School District in 2008, when she was given the helm of then-under-construction Kimball High, which opened in 2009.

District Superintendent Jim Franco echoed the accolades Domenichelli received from the ACSA.

“It was well-deserved,” he said. “She has done a wonderful job, and Kimball has gotten off to a great start.

“She is very knowledgeable about the curriculum and instruction — she regularly visits the classrooms to see the students’ progress,” he added. “It was a great job of planning (the opening of Kimball High), with their innovative pathways and programs.”

Franco also praised Domenichelli’s willingness to get involved in the district, joining various committees and groups including the Diversity and Equity Committee.

This is the first time she has won the award and the first time district personnel could remember a local high school principal winning the honor. Domenichelli will be feted at the association’s spring conference at Lake Tahoe in May.

She was nominated for the award by the district’s director of student services, Paul Hall.

While she appreciated the recognition, Domenichelli said she’s most pleased with the progress of her school.

“The two things I am most satisfied with Kimball, by this point, is the students are doing well and staff is happy. The campus has a feeling of family,” Domenichelli said. “To go from that field to this campus — it’s been an honor to be entrusted with that responsibility.”