Category: Career lessons

We held a dedication for the track on Sunday May 28, 2005.  Shirley Herrick and Florence McNett attended.  It was the first, and perhaps the only, time they met.  Our words of gratitude were directed at the two.  About three hundred people attended.  Many were alumni who wished to know how to get involved.  Alumni …

The $400,000  provided the foundation for our success.  The two major gifts opened the way for others. I had two boards to work with, and luckily for me, everyone was on the same page.   Final decisions regarding the scope of the project were left to the two boards which meant we’d have shared meetings to …

I’d been to the country club to play golf and for business meetings, but none as important as this.  Mr. Herrick had a reputation for his generosity as well as his straightforwardness.  This turned out to be our only face to face encounter. Gene Cooley was the superintendent in Tecumseh when I arrived in Britton.  …

By 2003 I was well into my superintendency in Britton-Macon.   It was the right place at the right time for me.  When I was hired twelve years prior, the Board wanted me to move into the district within the first year.   That move never took place. The Board said  my oldest son, David, could continue …

My second year in Britton, Britton’s MEAP (Michigan Education Assessment Program) scores ranked  highest in the county in eight of the nine reported areas.  The scores covered a multitude of grades in a variety of subjects. Reporters wanted to know our secret.  How had I led such a change in such a short amount of …

I believe the biggest reason school districts avoid consolidation is Friday night.  Community members, young and old, enjoy going to school for “the game”.  While we wish to win, routing for the home team is most important.  It’s a point of pride.  When I arrived in Britton not a week went by without someone speaking …

Each day we are given opportunities to interact with people.  We take advantage or we don’t.  Seemingly unrelated acts often pay big dividends. When I arrived in Britton in November of 1991 I spent a lot of time reading hundreds of pieces of mail that the interim superintendent saved for me. I perused the trivial …

Floyd hired me as a junior high teacher in Plainwell in 1969.  He was my first principal, a fine man nearing the end of his career.  His replacement was Burton, an up and coming leader.  One was nearing the end, and the second was just starting his climb to the top.  I got along with …

I’ve worked with hundreds of staff members over my career.  I can count on two fingers how many of their middle names I can recall, and I’m not really sure about the second.  I don’t know why Iola Jean Perkins sticks, but it does. I’ve included a couple more reflections regarding Miss Perkins below. Another …

I met Iola Perkins during my first week on the job in Addison.  I was a thirty-year old, still wet behind the ears, elementary school principal, and she was a veteran teacher old enough to be my mom.  If they put a picture of a teaching spinster in the dictionary, they could have called upon …