This staff editorial reflects the opinion of the Nighthawk News editorial board.
When we first came up with the idea of talking about the chaos we experience – the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel/Palestine, political battles from coast to coast, smaller but still important struggles in our own day-to-day lives – we had no idea that the chaos of an administration change would find us in the middle of our deadline cycle for this paper.
Dare County Schools posted the job opening but didn’t release a timeline for hiring a new principal to replace Chuck Lansing. Maybe school leaders in Central Office already have a few people in mind for the job. But just in case they need our help, here’s what WE want in a principal, in no particular order:
We need the right kind of leader who mingles well with students and listens to our ideas and embraces our traditions rather than opposing them. Someone who takes into consideration that we want to bring back old First Flight traditions such as original class colors on spirit days, the afternoon Homecoming parade and pep rally events, plus much-needed privileges including the senior bell and painting parking spots.
We need a leader who will help support school spirit when it comes to sports games and spirit days, making school-related events something everyone looks forward to.
The new principal should be someone who is able to act on the students’ ideas and opinions rather than just listening to them.
We need someone who is able to have a relationship with the students, be a friendly figure to look up to, who can interact with everyone in good spirits while also being respected as an authority figure.
We want someone who wants to get to know us, someone who is personable, outgoing and can communicate to the students without creating conflict. They should be someone we’re not afraid to go to when the need arises.
We want a leader who is able to make jokes and make the school days fun while also being able to get their job done, someone we’re eager to see each day on the morning announcements to make our day start off right.
We need someone who is able to find, hire and inspire the best teachers who want to help students learn, as well as teachers who understand us and create a safe and fun learning environment for us.
And, personally speaking, we of course need a principal who is able to recognize the important work done by Nighthawk News and is willing to support and encourage our work about the important and sometimes “controversial” issues we cover instead of censoring them.
When writing this editorial, the Nighthawk News staff realized that all of the qualities we are looking for in a new principal can already be found within First Flight’s walls. Assistant Principal Joe Tyson checks off all of the boxes for what we want in a principal.
The long-time teacher at FFHS knows our school’s traditions, and while he hasn’t been an administrator at First Flight for an extended time, he did get experience running a school in Elizabeth City before coming “home” to serve as our assistant. Tyson’s constant presence in the halls and enthusiastic interactions with students – and staff members – help create a learning environment students want to come to every day. Having a familiar face in the principal’s office would go a long way toward calming the chaos in this little corner of our lives.
