Spotlight: Mr. Lawson
Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization. In every school building, it is a principal's job to lead the school. For our new principal, Mr. Lawson, this is a new challenge. He was a history teacher for 17 years and this is his first administration job. He has taught at several different schools, such as Sherwood Cass R-8 and Warrensburg-Lutheran High School and his last job was at West Platte High School, in Weston, Missouri for six years.
He decided to become an administrator, because he wanted to use his ability to relate to students. He said, “I want to impact students' lives on a grander scale and atmosphere.” As a principal, he affects students lives on a grander scale, because his decisions impact every student. The only way to impact students in a positive way is to convince everyone that change is good.
When someone starts a new job they are usually nervous, especially when it is a new place and the job is so important. On the first day, someone may have a mix of emotions. Lawson said, “I had a lot of emotions on the first day. I was excited and nervous. I wanted to be accepted, yet I still had to keep in mind I am a building leader, and I have more people relying on me.” Making important decisions is hard, especially in new places but he is up for the challenge.
When teaching, you are impacting students' lives, but you may only affect the kids in your classroom. The principal is the leader for the whole building, therefore making a lot more student-affecting decisions. This is the predominant difference between teaching and being an administrator. Lawson said about this difference, “[As a principal], more decisions impact more people." Some of the other differences he noted are "the staff and students are closer here and have more pride in the community" Mr. Lawson has already started to impact our lives in positive ways by trying to build relationships with students and will continue to do so.
Mr. Lawson has many plans to benefit our school. He said, “Some of the biggest changes right now are creating more relevant learning opportunities for students and making sure all students are prepared for their post secondary choices. I want the atmosphere and climate to become a place that everyone enjoys and looks forward to coming to.” As Mr. Lawson continues to look into the future, he thinks about everyone that he will impact. He has started making these positive changes, and people are very excited to see where he takes our school.