Ida Stricker

"No loitering! Move it, people!!"

- Ida Stricker

Ida Stricker is the secondary antagonist of the 2016 comedy film, Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life.

She was the former vice principal of Hills Village Middle School, the right-hand of Principal Ken Dwight, and another of Rafe Khatchadorian's biggest enemies.

She is portrayed by Retta.

Personality
Similar to her boss, Stricker is shown to be a cruel and ruthless person who likes to enforce Dwight's code of conduct and make the students follow them. She is also a control freak, as she makes no hesitation in listing out any rule whenever a student violates it. However, Dwight is more of a comedic control freak and Stricker is rather shown to be a hot head; it's possible she only acts like Dwight because she sucks up to him, and it is revealed on the movie's website that she has a crush on Dwight.

Role in the film
Just like her boss, she is uncaring and tyrannical, helping Dwight run the school as if it were a prison. She enforces Dwight's code of conduct throughout the school, as it is filled with rules that sucks the fun out of the school. A new student named Rafe Khatchadorian (the protagonist of the film) already gets on Dwight's bad side when he draws an insulting picture of Dwight as a zombie in his notebook during an assembly that gets seen by other students. As a student named Dani takes the notebook and laughs at the drawing, Stricker angrily orders Dani to hand over the notebook and gives it to Dwight, who destroys it by dumping it into a bucket of acid afterwards.

Upset by this turn of events, Rafe decides to break the rules of Dwight's code of conduct in retaliation, even subjecting Stricker into one of his pranks (filling up one of the school closets with balls). During the time, Stricker helps Dwight on illegally cutting off the remedial class (led by Rafe's favorite teacher Mr. Teller) from the upcoming test called B.L.A.A.R., as he wants to improve the average test scores to get a bonus from the school district. To that end, Dwight frames the students of the remedial class for the pranks before suspending them and firing Mr. Teller. Unwilling to let his class take the fall, Rafe is forced to come forward that he's the one responsible for the pranks, resulting his expulsion. This leaves Rafe in trouble with his family, especially with his mother's boyfriend Carl/Bear (who suggests sending Rafe to a military school).

Eventually, Rafe's girlfriend Jeanne Galletta found out that this whole turn of events was to cover up Dwight's actions of cutting off the remedial class from taking B.L.A.A.R. this whole time, having secretly recorded Dwight coercing the local janitor Gus in putting the evidence in the students' lockers to frame them for the pranks. As such, Mr. Teller and the other suspended students agree to help Rafe expose Dwight and Stricker, even Gus is willing to tag along as he had enough of Dwight's behavior. The next day, as the entire school is about to take the B.L.A.A.R., Rafe and his classmates interrupted several procedures to expose Dwight's deceitfulness, much to Stricker's surprise and shock. Just as Rafe got hold of Jeanne's tape detailing Dwight's crimes, Dwight orders Stricker to catch Rafe, but she fails just as Dwight uses to a stolen bike to catch up to Rafe, running over Stricker in the process. Just as Dwight has finally caught Rafe on his tracks, Mr. Teller arrives with the local superintendent Hwang, who received a formal compliant from Mr. Teller about the events. Rafe then presents Hwang with the tape exposing Dwight and Stricker's crimes, resulting both Dwight and Stricker to be fired. Stricker is then forced to help out Dwight in packing up his things as Hwang swears to have them prosecuted for their crimes in court. It is implied that Stricker will face a sentence in prison along with Dwight for their crimes.

Quotes
"Excuse me... is your name David? (Rafe: No.) Were you carved by Michelangelo? (Rafe: No.) Stop standing around like a statue. You're blocking the flow of traffic."

- Stricker telling Rafe to get back in line with the other students in his first day of school.

"HEY! Hand over the notebook, Dani, if you know what's good for you. (Dani does so) SMART MOVE!"

- Stricker taking Rafe's notebook after several students laugh at Rafe's drawing of Dwight.

"This is not a gallery, and that's not art!"

- Stricker after seeing that the hallways are filled with colorful sticker papers portraying good art.

"As I always say, teach to the test, not to the kids. (Dwight: It's a relief to be around someone who gets it.)"

- Stricker agreeing with Dwight's intent to get the best test score in the school district.

Trivia

 * In the reoccurring cartoon-fantasy scenes, Stricker is portrayed at her usual self, as opposed to Dwight (who is portrayed as a zombie) and Carl (who is portrayed as a bear).
 * In the book that the movie was originally based on, Stricker was very different from her movie counterpart, being a minor character with only a few short appearances. She was also acting more or less like a civil vice principal who questions over Rafe's intents of breaking the rules.
 * Stricker is similar to Muriel P. Finster from the TV show Recess. They are both control freaks acting as the right-hands to the school principals (Principal Dwight and Principal Prickly). However, unlike Finster (who is very honorable in nature and shares Prickly's normal standards in maintaining the school), Stricker has no hesitation in enforcing Dwight's tyrannical control of the school by any means necessary.