By: Destiny Cannon
*High School Principal*
Q: Why did you decide to become a teacher before becoming a principal?
A: “When I was in high school, I did volunteer work at a summer camp with students with disabilities. I worked with a young man who was deaf, and I learned enough sign language to be able to communicate with him, and I just really, really loved the experience. So, I decided that summer that I wanted to be a special-education teacher.”
Q: How do you deal with a stressful situation?
A: “Generally, I try to not react too quickly. I try to take a deep breath and think and let things process so that I don’t react irrationally. Being a principal, everything I say is kind of scrutinized under a microscope, so I try to take my time and think about what’s going on and not react until I’ve gathered all the facts.”
Q: What is your most interesting, high school memory?
A: “I had a lot of really good, high school memories. I would have to say being a runner; I was a track and cross-country athlete, and I ran at states. First time I ever finished All-State in a sporting event was in cross-country. I finished 14th in the state of Virginia. It was just the intensity of it all. It was a lot of fun and exciting.”
Q: If you could have a different job, what would it be?
A: “Well, I really, really like this job, but I guess if I could have a different job, I would be a nurse because I’m already one, specifically in the NICU [Newborn Intensive Care Unit]. It made me feel really good going home knowing that I’m helping these premature babies get healthy to eventually go home with their families.”
Q: What was your funniest, teaching moment?
A: “ I don’t know if it’s my ‘funniest’ moment, but the most fun I’ve had was going to Bob Evans on Fridays with them [former students] and having breakfast. It was a big group of my kids, and the ED kids and I had a really good time. We would all eat and tell jokes. It was nice to see kids, who struggled in school, in a fun environment.”
Q: What was your biggest setback in life?
A: “ I’ve had big setbacks, but the most influential one I would say was probably being a Cleveland principal. I really loved my job. I felt like I was making a difference, and I really struggled with the decision to leave the Cleveland schools because I felt like I was letting the kids down. I thought I would be a principal in Cleveland forever, so I had a really hard time leaving.”
Q: If you could change one thing in the school, what would it be?
A: “I’d like to add more electives to the school. I feel like we don’t have a lot of electives that the other schools have, and I would try to make sure that we could get all the funding so that we could facilitate all the electives for the teachers to teach them.”
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 