National Principals Month comes around every October, signaling a time to appreciate the administrative teams that keep schools running on a day to day basis.
“Everyday is very different,” principal Stacey Whaling said. “When you’re principal, you’re kind of over mission and vision of the campus. It’s kind of like steering the ship in the right direction.”
For assistant principal Victoria Tong, adaptability is key.
“I can totally have my whole day planned, and one thing can throw it off. It could be bad, could be good, but most of the time it’s not too good,” Tong said. “We have to be flexible, because lots of things can happen at any moment.”
With campus administrators often getting their start in education by way of teaching, supporting others is a significant part of their role on campus.
“My two biggest jobs are to support the students by guiding [them] in the right direction and help support teachers and help them be the best they can be,” assistant principal Richard Sabatier said. “A lot of times I’m in teachers’ rooms to be another set of eyes and I help to support the students, correct behaviors, and things like that.”
Although managing an entire campus can be a huge undertaking, Whaling was drawn to the role.
“Initially, when I got into education, I just wanted to be an amazing teacher,” Whaling said. “I fell in love with coaching up people and being over that mission and vision piece, and it kind of just all fell into place.”
Taking on an administrative role appeals to some, including Sabatier and Tong, due to the possibility to make a change.
“I taught here for eight years before being an AP. I’ve worked here since I was 22,” Sabatier said. “I know this building really well and it holds a really special place in my heart so any time I can make things better for the students or the teachers who I taught alongside, that’s the most important thing for me.”
“I think that I wanted to do this because I’ve seen aspects of the classroom as well as constraints within the classroom,” Tong said. “I thought that I could make a bigger change if I did something more administratively.”
