PITTSVILLE, WI (OnFocus) – Dr. Rodrick Watson will be leading Pittsville High School as their Principal in a school year that will see some new changes. Here’s our conversation with the new face of Pittsville High School:
OnFocus: Where did you grow up and start your career in education?
Rodrick Watson: I grew up in Illinois and was born in a town called Freeport in Northwestern Illinois. I went to Northern Illinois University where I got my bachelor’s in history and my administrator certificate and my doctorate in teaching educational philosophy. Then my other master’s degree was from St. Xavier University and that was in teaching and learning. I then I worked in the Chicago as a history civics teacher for 10 years after I returned from my deployment from Iraq. I worked in an alternative school for kids who had struggled in their traditional schools and got to meet some really excellent kids and do some interesting work and I met my wife there.
OF: What brought you up to Wisconsin?
RW: My wife asked me to apply for administration jobs back in her hometown of Shawano, Wisconsin. When your wife tells you to do something a few times gently then you should probably do it. So I applied to Shawano and became the Associate Principal there at the Middle School seven years ago.
OF: You mentioned you taught for a good amount of time. When did you decide that making the jump to principal was something you wanted to do?
RW: I didn’t do it consciously. I don’t see myself as ever leaving the teaching profession. I see it as going to a different side of the building where I can help more people. As I advanced my career, my service in the Army Reserves then, National Guard now has opened up some possibilities for post-secondary education where I got degrees that made it possible for me to become a secondary administrator. At first I was categorically against it where I felt that was the dark side but the more and more I realized that there are things that I wanted to do to improve our schools and help our kids and I realized I’d have to be an administrator to do that. I don’t know that I ever consciously said, “Now I need to stop being a teacher and start being a principal.” It was just the next step and it was something I realized I could do and do well.
OF: What drew you to the Pittsville job?
RW: Of course you go where opportunity takes you but I was really interested in what Pittsville had to offer. When Superintendent Figueroa brought me in for an interview, it was quite different than the other interviews that I had done. It was very welcoming, very dedicated to students, and very curious. They were looking for the exact kind of person who understood how to create a learning environment for kids how to make it the right kind of school that people want to be at. I was intrigued by that opportunity. I went to a bigger high school and I taught in the second-biggest district in Illinois and I’ve seen what happens when kids become numbers and data instead of human beings. Pittsville seems like the antithesis of that. I knew that I’d work really well with Superintendent Figueroa.
OF: What’s something that you’re looking forward to as you get kids in the building?
RW: Well, I’ve got to get to know them. School is a very different place when it’s a big empty building. When we get to the point where school is a place to go where you get to learn again then I’m looking forward to absorbing that and seeing how I can support that. I want to look at all the great things that teachers are doing. My goal for the first year is to be learning. Learning what the school is doing, what it needs to do next, and respecting all the work that has been done and seeing how I can support that. I’m also looking forward to the culture in the high school because working in a middle school, you have the beginnings of the culture but in the high school you have the full community with the extra-curricular activities and sports that they have, you really get to see people shine.
OF: Do you have any interest in coaching or something?
RW: I work two full-time jobs with this and with the National Guard and so I’d love to coach but it would be informal if I did. I’d love to work with the runners, I’m a runner myself but I’ll leave that for the people who have more skills and time. I have three kids myself, a 9-, 7-, and 2-year-old and with all the work the National Guard has in front of me, I think I have to be careful with my time.
OF: Who has helped you or welcomed you with open arms here in Pittsville?
RW: Well, everybody. I’m trying to meet with every single staff member and get their perspective and their needs and concerns. They’ve all been really helpful so far as have the other administrators in the building. It’s clear that the school is welcoming of new people and wants me to be successful and to be prepared to help our kids.
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