Principal of five years resigns
Decision made to prioritize health, family
Principal Scott Meyers speaks during the Graduation ceremony for the Class of 2019 June 6. Meyers is resigning June 30.
February 16, 2020
Though the decision to resign was hard to make, Principal Scott Meyers said it was ultimately made easier because of the potential positive effects on his life.
“I’m going to miss being a part of almost 1,500 students’ lives. It is a really important thing and I take it very seriously. I’ll miss that a great deal,” Meyers said. “But getting more intentional around some of what I’m doing with my family and being present for my kids made it a little bit less difficult.”
Following his decision to resign effective June 30, 2020, Meyers said it will allow him to spend more time with his family.
“Jobs like the high school principal require a lot of time, a lot of attention and having three sons and a wife that need to see their dad and husband, I’ve just decided to follow my purpose and make sure I am more present there,” Meyers said.
When reflecting on what he was most proud of during his time as principal, Meyers mentioned the Scheduling Task Force, teachers he has hired and expanding the BARR program to ninth and tenth grade, decreasing divisions within grades.
“Elevating student voice, and looking for opportunities to make sure our students are able to interact with one another,” Meyers said. “When I first started, we had support blocks in ninth grade and honors blocks, and it was unintentionally like separating and tracking students. So, I’ve been looking for ways to minimize that.”
Freshman Winifred Fritz-Durocher said although she has not witnessed any widespread changes made by Meyers, new administration staff could affect her high school experience.
“I guess that the change in leadership could change some things about the school. My parents might have told me he was resigning, I just didn’t really know that much about it. The only place that I’ve really seen what he has done is in 6425 News, so I don’t really know what he has done here,” Fritz-Durocher said.
Meyers said just because he is leaving the high school, it does not mean his message will stop being spread.
“I think the important thing for all of us to remember is when you leave something it doesn’t mean the work has to stop, it just means somebody else is going to continue the work,” Meyers said. “Mr. Goggleye and Ms. Busse are great teammates, and they’re going to do amazing things, and I know our district is going to do what they need to to find somebody who’s ready to take on the challenge of continuing those things.”
According to Meyers, although he won’t be directly involved in hiring the new principal, he predicts the district will lay out a process involving stakeholders to find a replacement.
“I want to make sure that it’s a smooth transition for everybody. The students deserve it and the teachers deserve it, as well as the families,” Meyers said.
According to freshman Luke Affeldt, the resignation was unexpected and he does not expect to be dramatically affected by the change in leadership.
“I did not think that he was going to. It might be different from what I am doing now because there is a different principal there, I don’t think it will be that different, though,” Affeldt said.
Meyers said one of his biggest focuses as principal was racial equity. He went on to say that he has seen the district go through a big transition with regards to equity and is proud to say the high school has been at the forefront of parts of that change.
“I hope we continue to just internalize and make it what we do. And I already see it happening in our elementary schools, our middle school and our high school, where students can expect to have conversations about race and racial equity,” Meyers said.
Meyers said he announced his resignation Feb. 12, but that does not mean he is done working as the principal, as there are currently many projects in motion.
“I’m pausing on the thank yous and the goodbyes because we’ve got a lot of work left to do until June 30,” Meyers said. “And to be honest, I’m really looking forward to being a part of that work.”
