Latest / The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District / Episode #19-Terri Herren, High School Principal

Transcript

Episode #19-Terri Herren, High School Principal · The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District

• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Recess Podcast.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, uh, the proud superintendent of Auburn School District, Dr.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Alan Spicciotti.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: The Recess is a way that we get the word out.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: We really want to tell the great stories of the people and programs who make the Auburn School District such a wonderful place to learn, to live, to work.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And we're really excited to have more and more episodes to tell that story.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: We already have a catalog of previous episodes with all kinds of great guests and topics, and I encourage you to check that out if you haven't had a chance to.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we also encourage you to share if this episode or another one might be of interest to a friend or a colleague or a neighbor to pass that along so that we get the word out because I have an incredible honor of getting to see the whole district and everything that happens in our support services, in our schools, with our students, with our staff and our community.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: And most people don't have that access or privilege.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I have an opportunity just to kind of shine a light on some really amazing folks and the great things that are happening in the district.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Today is another example of that.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm a little bit biased as a former principal.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think principals are uh integral certainly to any school, but also the district and and the community in their leadership and in their role as an educator.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: And we have a fantastic principal with us today, uh, who I think is the first principal we've had on the podcast.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and this is Terry Heron.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: She's the principal of Auburn Mountain View High School.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Terry.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm happy to be here.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we're so excited to have you here.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Terry has a rich history in the Auburn School District and in education, and she's going to tell you all about it and about her role and about uh Auburn Mountain View High School.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but before we get started, we're going to start right back where we do every episode of the Recess Podcast.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Terry, who was your favorite teacher?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: My favorite teacher is Vicky Daniels.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: She was my middle school PE teacher and my high school gymnastics coach.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: And she inspired me to go to college and become a teacher because of the way she treated kids and the encouragement she gave.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I just love her and I still love her to this day.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's a fantastic story.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's always interesting to me who people pick, and it's for a variety of reasons, but there's always that personal connection.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times there is like that coaching connection or something that especially resonates with you.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Could you just talk a little bit about uh what it's like to have a teacher who's a coach and the difference that makes for you?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think the the fact that not only I saw her in the classroom, but also after school for so many so many hours um in the gym and the attention and support that I was given.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I even went on to call into college and um competed as a gymnast in college, and it's because of her encouragement that she knew I could do it.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't know if anybody else believed that, but she did.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: So tell us a little bit about your path, your journey.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was just in a situation where we're talking about kids aren't gonna know exactly what they're doing, but you had, I think, a through line to your uh through what you just told us in your own education, in the college, into uh your role as an educator.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: So take us through that progression.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I I'll actually start at kindergarten.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: My dad was in the Navy and I was in seven schools before I was in the eighth grade.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: So we moved around a lot.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I I loved it, but I loved being settled.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so my path here at in Auburn, I started in 1981 as a gymnastics coach and a substitute.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I substituted in almost every one of the buildings.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I was at Jill Do Ray as a long-term, I was at Washington as a long-term sub.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I was at the high schools, I was at at Olympic a lot.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so that was my first year.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then the next year I became a PE teacher at Auburn High, and I loved Auburn High.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: I bled green and gold for 23 years.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: I was the gymnastics coach and cheer coach there, and then did my admin internship at Auburn.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, was an administrator there for three years until Auburn Mountain View opened up, and then I was the uh assistant principal for two years at Auburn Mountain View.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then finally, the last 17 years, principal at Auburn Mountain View, the world's greatest high school.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm looking at the clock.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's about five minutes in before we got that plug.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and uh if you don't know what uh principal Heron is talking about, that is her affectionate nickname for her school, the world's greatest high school, Auburn Mountain View.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: And for the next 20 or 30 minutes, we will let that stand unchallenged.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I know some of your colleagues probably have a thing or two to say about that, but we're very proud of Auburn.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't believe it, you won't achieve it.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so if I don't say we're the world's greatest greatest high school, who will believe it and we won't achieve it?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I just have to keep saying it.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: When was Auburn Mountain View built?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: 2005, six was our first year.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's amazing.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's already really we think of it sometimes as a new school in this community, uh, but it's coming up on 20 years.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, this is our 19th year.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if you go up to Auburn Mountain View, uh Terry's done a great job with school spirit.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just I'm always just touched.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, to me, it's it's it's a model of um students who are involved, students who lead things themselves, take it on, and uh everything is orange and blue, right?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: It starts with you.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And uh Principal Heron's wearing her orange and blue right now.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh those of you who know her would not be surprised to hear that, but I'll just uh verify.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And uh one of the latest additions, if you go up to the the soccer field, the football practice field, the track, uh there is an enormous banner.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is at least 40 yards long, I think, that spells out the world's greatest high school in the back fence, and it makes quite a statement.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: We love it, we love it.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: We're very proud of it.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: So um let's kind of shift just a little bit.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And um before we get into like the Java principal, you were the first female principal uh at the secondary level or at least at the high school level.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: In the Auburn School District.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: What does that mean to you?
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and just kind of put that in perspective for us because Auburn's been around since 1896.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so that was basically a hundred years.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it's really an honor.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: I feel uh I feel very proud to be the first female high school principal in the Auburn School District.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: I really think about uh how I lead.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: I lead with compassion with my heart.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um sometimes I lead more with my heart than my head, and I uh I don't know if that's a stereotype sometimes that people have, but I I feel like my always my my first concern is our kids and our teachers are very close behind.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the teachers and the paraeducators are what run the school.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm I feel like if as a woman I want people to see um see themselves in me.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: So other young ladies that might want to be a teacher that eventually would want to be an administrator, or uh high school teachers or elementary, middle, it doesn't matter, um, female teachers that might aspire to be a leader, an an assistant principal or a principal because of what they see in me.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I hope that's what what people see.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome, Terry.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I know so many of your colleagues are proud of the work you've done and what it means.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it paves the way too, right?
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: We actually uh didn't talk about this when we hired a second female and a third female principal.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're really hiring uh the best leaders for our system who can take our schools to the next level.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I I think it's just an incredible asset to the district what you have done to open that field.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that uh it's easy to be closed-minded about uh who can do what, and the truth is uh there are a lot of capable people out there who have been overlooked for too long, and uh your leadership has helped open some doors.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: I really think about to our our athletes.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have at Auburn Mountain View, we only have two male coaches that coach female sports.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: All the other sports are coached by females, which is important for these young athletes to see themselves in their coach as well.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I I'm very proud of that as well.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's a really great observation.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Terry's an amazing advocate for sports and uh gender equity in sports, and um you have a personal connection to athletics and also uh your family is very engaged.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Miss Heron mentioned being a P teacher uh the the the gymnastics route.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um Do you want to share a little bit more about your family and uh we'll make sure that we get your uh your wonderful husband mentioned before we move to the next slide?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: I have an amazing husband that supports me, and he is the reason I became an administrator.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: He really pushed me um into the field.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: There was a presentation from the University of Washington to do a cohort for admin, and he said you should go.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, oh my gosh, nobody would ever, you know, I can't even imagine.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: And he just kept saying all summer long, you should do it, you should do it.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: And finally I did, and I'm so thankful that he supports me as much as he does in my quest to be a principal and to be a good principal.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he was a baseball player in college and football player at BYU.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have three children, all very athletic.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my son was drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2004, and he went to Auburn High and played football, basketball, and baseball.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: My daughter Kate did two years at Auburn High, and then she was part of that transition up to Auburn Mountain View.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she played soccer at the Naval Academy and has most recently been on the all-military um rugby team.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: She's fallen in love with rugby, but she is uh major in the Marine Corps.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then my youngest, Kristen Heron, played softball, basketball, and soccer at Auburn Mountain View and was on the national championship softball team at Linfield, and now is currently the softball coach at Auburn Mountain View and teaches language arts.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: So there's there's the Heron Klan.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so your strong connections uh to athletics and to women's sports uh is a natural connection.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: I, you know, honestly haven't heard a lot of that intentionality around ensuring that we have uh female coaches for girls' sports, and that's a great example of your leadership and uh and your family's just been a wonderful part of our community for long before I got here uh ten years ago.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: So um, as you know, my guest is Terry Heron.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: She is the principal of the world's greatest high school, Auburn Mountain View.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that is now uh uh recorded, so I'm sure I'll take some flack for that.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, we're gonna honor Terry and and her great work.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna pivot into um the work of our principals and again, we're we're just telling the story and letting people know some of the things that happened that don't make the news and aren't uh easily accessible to the public, to our parents, even our students may not see.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um can you talk about what it means to be a high school principal?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: What is the work?
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: What is your day like?
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Just, you know, shed a little light for us.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, sometimes I I hear people not in education talk really poorly or be afraid of high school students.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I just my my face lights up when they come into the school in September.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: I love the first day of school, I love I I love September.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: People are so excited, but I feel like kids are kids wherever you go, and and kids are great.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: There's maybe a handful that that need a little support or a little direction, but I have to say, in my 43-ish years of being a high school educator, I have never been afraid of a student.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: I get up every single morning and I'm kind of excited to get to work.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: I I love kids and and our teachers and paraeducators and support staff, they make the difference for me.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: If I didn't have great teachers and support staff, I wouldn't be who I am, or I couldn't say that we're the world's greatest high school.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: I love that enthusiasm.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the things that I really enjoy about working with you.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was just reflecting when I came here.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: My former district had certain kind of attributes we looked for in principals, and we were we're very deep into instructional leadership, which is obviously important, right?
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: We uh at our core, we are a learning institution and the principals have a role in promoting that.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I very quickly learned from Terry's example the importance of culture building and having a culture in a school and having a leader who is willing to call things out and uh willing to say if that's not acceptable um and not in a you know, not in a stern origine kind of a way, but uh in a very positive way about no, this is what we're about, this is who we are.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that just culture leadership that you bring at Otter Mountain, I think, is uh has been a a model for a long time.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh around our district and and really in education.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um just share like a typical day.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: So most people, you know, we all know the world we have.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um most people are not in the principal chair.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: What does it look like to be a high school principal from the morning, noon, and night?
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we start um our day uh between 7 and 7.15, and I come in and drop off all my things in my office, say hello to my office staff, and then I head to our um latte stand and get a quad shot Americano.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then from there, the buses start dropping off kids, and we do a full breakfast for kids.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So we're in the lunchroom welcoming kids, um, walking the halls.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: Every one of the admin have hall duty and we're assigned to a hall, so we want to make sure kids are in classes on time and encouraging them to get to class a little quicker than they like to move.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then, and then you know, then I kind of start my email.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: The email is the death of me to look at all my emails.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then when the bell rings, I'm back up and we're back out in the hall checking kids, making sure the kids are getting to class on time.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: And at Auburn Mountain View, every single teacher is at the door greeting students every single period.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that's uh non-negotiable for me that they that they're at the door and and welcoming students um into their class.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: And then it's you know, three more periods of that, and then there's lunch, and we have two 30-minute not duty-free lunches for admin.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and they're it's great, you know.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: The kids get in line and they wait in line for 10 to 12 minutes, get their lunch, um, and and they it's kind of their downtime.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really uh we're just observing, we're just kind of there to support.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'll go sit at a table and talk to kids about maybe the sporting event the night before or the play or the orchestra concert that they were in.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm always amazed at uh at what kids bring for lunch or what they eat for lunch.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we'll have conversations about that.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then you know, another uh maybe I'm in a classroom supporting a teacher or doing an observation or headed to a meeting or our counselors meet once a week and I sit on the counseling team with the counselors, and so every single day is different.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then about 2 40, the students are gone.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: We say goodbye.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, and then and then we Yeah.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have this amazing program that we call it um third third meal, and um we have students can stay at Auburn Mountain View and and get a dinner, an early dinner.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's sporting events that are happening right after school.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: There's and sometimes I'll run home, um, get something to eat, close my eyes for 15 minutes, and then I'm back at a basketball game or a football game or something like that.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: But at my age, that 15-minute nap really helps me.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh you need it because I'm guessing that you're short on sleep on the other end of the of the day.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: So that gives us a sense of what it's like, and and what I really appreciate about Terry Heron is she is so engaged with her students.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh they I think think of her like uh another parent or a mentor, uh you know, in in all the the respectful way a friend, uh but somebody they can talk to and who knows them.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: And we talk so much about creating a sense of belonging for our kids.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Starts with knowing knowing the student, knowing their name, uh showing respect.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I just see that every time I'm up at our Mountain View and we're in the halls.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh sometimes it's hard to have a conversation because kids are constantly coming up to Principal Heron and saying, Hey Miss Heron, can I tell you about this?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: or I did this.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to share what I what I see.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's a it's a great model.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um and every principal is different, right, in in how they do the job, and all of our principals uh work hard and bring special talents and uh we all learn from each other.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but uh anyway, I'm calling out a few of the things that I see in Terry that are just phenomenal and illustrate really great qualities of what it means to be a principal.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: I am very grateful for that.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh let's have some fun.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um you've been in education.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: You were telling me before we started recording uh we think this is your 43rd year in education.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: That is amazing.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: What was it like to teach Teddy Rose?
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm just kidding.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: You've seen a lot, you you've done a lot, and you have impacted so many students.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, there must be uh either students who stand out to you or success stories.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um just kind of fill our bucket.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us tell us a great story.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's so many, so many.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: I think of my days at Auburn High and uh so many kids and families that I still feel connected to um and and see and have been invited to their kids' weddings, or I've actually officiated two of my students' weddings uh when they got married, and that was quite an honor to get to do that.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, there's there's kids that that have everything they could ever want and be very privileged but struggle with life.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: And those are um kids that I want to wrap my arms around, and then there's kids that have very little but have are are the happiest um most positive students and I want to wrap my arms around them.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: There's just so many different kinds of kids, and the spectrum is so far and wide of the students that I've been involved with, uh especially since I started teaching in Auburn in 1981.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: And in 2024, our demographics look really different.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: But they're still kids, and kids are kids, and they're great kids.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: And um I I just I I don't know that I could pick out one.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: The my most recent, I think, is a couple of girls that have struggled um with behavior that maybe um people didn't want to have anything to do with.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: And there were so many people at Mountain View that wrapped their arms around them and they walked across the stage and and it it's just incredible to see that the kids that really fight hard um because maybe they've made mistakes in their first couple of years.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: It and there's not a lot of r wiggle room to make mistakes with 24 credits.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: So So um but those kids that that just want to be loved and all they want is to say, hey, how are you doing today?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: And it changes their life.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: And you had a student complete their graduation requirements, if I recall, at like 7 a.m.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: on graduation Saturday.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we did.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: So there are a lot of close calls out there.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and I really respect our our principals and our school staff uh making the extra effort to get kids across the line and have that great day with their family.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And uh there are so many success stories.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: One thing that I've seen that stands out at Auburn Mountain View is the amount of student leadership you have in running school offense.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: And um I think I might have mentioned this on the podcast last year, but when I was student teaching, I had a mentor teacher who said uh if you're really good you'll be able to I taught music, you'd be able to start the song and walk off stage and the students can finish it without you, and that's a sign of success.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I see that, you know, just when I'm there happens to be uh a lot oftentimes assemblies.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I'm thinking of your Veterans Day assembly, your Martin Luther King assembly, your multicultural uh lunch programs, all run by students.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I know adults have a really important role uh supporting in the background, but they're releasing that opportunity to students and your students just flourish in that role.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about how that came about and how that really I think represents your school so well.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think really um Janet Thomas, who was our uh activities coordinator who was past, but she really believed that kids needed to be on the mic.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: That this isn't about us, this is not about the adults in the room, it's really about the kids.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: And if they make mistakes, we'll talk them through it and we'll do better next time.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: So what we it, you know, if we don't know what we don't know, and if you can do it better next time, that's the goal.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I I really have um adopted that philosophy because I I don't need to be on the microphone.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think the kids love seeing each other on the mic.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: They um it's really a life skill to be able to talk in front of people, and the more we can have students do that, the better off.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: And they're shaky and they're nervous at first, but then the more they do it, it just becomes natural and and it's really a great life skill.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's very well put.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: We had a we had a trainer uh uh just before we are recording this who started the session saying our schools for adults are for kids.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it sounds like obviously it's for kids, but it can be so easy to to try to overfunction as the adult and you make it about yourself and it's really about kids growing and releasing that responsibility any chance you can get, especially at the high school level.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's just uh awesome how that happens at Mountain View, and it's it's a model for uh schools all over the country.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: But you are 43 years in, you're uh uh a seasoned leader at this point.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: 43 years in education.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh do you know how many years in administration?
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: How many years were you an AP?
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: I I I will have taught 23 years and I'm at 22 right now for admin.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean that's two whole careers, really.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what advice would you give to aspiring principals?
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: Get to know your community.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: Your community is, you know, who who will support you and get to know your community, support your community.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: I live in the community I work I work in, and um 92% of the time that's great.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um every once in a while at Safeway, I get you know a parent that's not happy about something.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: But I think that it's important um to know your community and then uplift your teachers.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: If your teachers feel like you care about them and you support them, they're gonna do what we need to do to support kids.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: And then you model all of that, and then they will also support kids.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's the best advice I could give.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: And take time for your family.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Great advice.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh is there anything else that we haven't covered yet?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Anything that you want to just share?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: I I've loved working in Auburn.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: I've you know, I've had some great leaders.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Randy Taylor, who was the principal at Auburn High when I was um doing my admin internship, he really believed in me and gave me a chance uh when there was an o opening at Auburn High.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I felt I just felt like he was amazing that he gave me that chance.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: And then that Bob Odman wanted me to be his first assistant principal.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then when Linda Cowan wanted me to be the principal of Auburn Mountain View, I just I was overwhelmed and so proud.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: And um, but I I just can't say enough about my kids have gone to school here, my husband worked here, my brother-in-law worked here.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: I guess shout out to Dr.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: Kip Heron.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I I just think that it's a great community to live in and great schools, so and those are great words to end on.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: But before we end, we're gonna close this out like we do every episode.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: Terry Heron, what was your favorite thing to do at recess?
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: Early elementary, chase the boys.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: And then kickball.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: I love playing kickball.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Me too.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's my favorite.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Kickball.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: I played a lot of kickball.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh, Terry, you've been a great guest, and you've been an incredible presence in our school district for many, many, many years, and you've touched so many lives of students and uh your colleagues, and now you I'll bet you have quite a number of former students who are teachers or parents in the district, and um I'm sure that's very gratifying to you.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: You made an amazing legacy in this district and in this community, and you continue to, and I'm excited to see what happens the rest of the year at Auburn Mountain View, and uh just look forward to our ongoing relationship.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Terry.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: All right, this has been the Recess Podcast, which is a production of the Auburn School District.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Vicky Alonzo is our great producer to help us get the stories out.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: So if you enjoyed this episode, uh you know an aspiring principal or somebody who loves Auburn Mountain View High School or uh the Auburn Trojans back in the day when Terry was there, uh please give them a note, ask them to give it a listen and uh maybe even subscribe to the Recess Podcast so we can continue to share the stories of our amazing staff and students with our community.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to this episode.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next time.