Principal’s Corner

A new school year presents opportunities for various beginnings — new classes, new faces, sometime-new courses and often-new materials.  Summer and vacation can be great healers; and as we approach the opening day of a new school year, the end-of-year pressures that plagued us in June seem remote.

One of the newest things at Steller this year is me.  My name is Harlod Green.  I come to you with a varied background in education.  I have twenty-four years in education, and the last twelve years have been in educational administration.  I have worked on the ground level as a teacher helping to implement the Coalition of Essential school principals in Albuquerque, NM.  I have been an assistant principal in Fairbanks and Anchorage, as well as a principal of a charter school in Fairbanks. This briefly summarizes me.  I am certain that in the days, weeks, months, and years to come we will talk. You will come to know me and I, you.  I am extremely happy to be at Steller and look forward to working with my community, my parents and all of the wonderful students and staff that make up the heart and soul of Steller.

Newness alone cannot produce transformation.  We ourselves must be willing to be caught up in the rebirth that is possible with each new year.  Starting a new year gives us the opportunity to make new plans, design new strategies, and implement new ideas.  There is a special kind of joy and satisfaction in planning lessons and activities for a new class, for although the subject or grade level is the same, the students are new, and they appreciate the planning that is done on their behalf.  Whether one’s responsibility is administrating, supervising, teaching, preparing lunches, maintaining a building, or managing an office, there is always room for improvement and for new ways to do a good job even better.

We can be proud of what we achieve in Steller- in our classrooms, in our offices, and in our communities.  But, our achievements are not due to complacency and satisfaction with the status quo.  Our program is what it is because we have a staff of dedicated, aspiring individuals that have a common goal — to do what is best for students. This year, as in the past, we must concentrate on the processes that spur continuing advancement:  evaluating what we have, determining what we can do to improve, and identifying what we need to do to make those improvements.  Let us make 2008-09 our best year yet!

Harlod Green