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.”
