By Hunter Haskett, Editor-in-Chief
It was the long anticipated, hotly debated Homecoming pep rally of 2016, and as the First Flight student body thundered into the stadium on that Friday with members of each class decked out in their respective colors, their attention was caught by the man in the fuzzy white bathrobe.
Principal Tim Albert came to First Flight three years ago from the middle school, and any current upperclassmen knows it wasn’t the smoothest transition.
“The student body was all about the outgoing principal and so they did the ‘Albert Nation’ and they were wearing white robes to the games,” Assistant Principal Caroline Pearce said. “He started the pep rally in the white robe — that was my favorite thing he did as far as establishing his own rapport with the students.”
As time progressed, a relationship of respect has been built by both Albert’s administration and the students of FFHS. And now, that relationship is coming to an end. At Tuesday night’s Dare County Schools Board of Education meeting in the First Flight High School media center, plans of Albert’s retirement were shared by BOE member Ben Sproul and then expounded upon by Superintendent John Farrelly, whose kind words about Albert’s service led to a standing ovation from those in attendance at the standing-room-only meeting.
Albert will finish out the school year and retire July 1. The announcement came as a surprise to the school community, but a decision as big as this one is not made on a whim.
“I had been talking to my wife about it over the summer and towards the beginning of the school year, but really didn’t make a final decision until Christmastime,” Albert said. “It was hard in the fact that this is what I’ve been doing for my whole life and I know I’ll miss it, but at the same time it was time to move on.”
The announcement brings an end to a 42-year career in education that began in Virginia and continued in Dare County in 2007. Here, Albert served as an assistant principal at First Flight Middle before getting the top jobs at FFMS and FFHS.
“I have talked with Mr. Albert a bunch of times on the side of the soccer field while our kids were doing amazing things and he’s had an amazing, lustrous career here,” Sproul said. “We’ve been privileged to have him and we wish him all the best in retirement.”
Albert always has been a fixture at sporting events, and not just the home games. Just this past weekend, Albert made the trip to both Winston-Salem and Cary to cheer on FFHS’ indoor track and swimming teams.
“I made a commitment that I was going to attend state championships for each sport that was involved before I retired,” Albert said. “I’ve been to cross country, I’ve been to soccer and it’s just a nice experience to see the student athletes in that setting and how they represent First Flight so well.”
Members of both teams had never had an administrator go that extra mile — literally — for them before. They appreciated Albert’s support.
“I was pretty surprised that he would drive all the way to Winston-Salem, but I’m glad he did it because that’s very nice to see someone else there,” said junior Aidan May, whose relay team captured a first-place finish in front of Albert.
Still, when news of Arty Tillett’s move to assistant superintendent and Albert’s shift to the high school emerged, members of the Class of 2017 took to social media with hashtags about “Albert Nation” because of Albert’s focus on school rules involving cell phones, dress code and other issues. But Albert embraced the title, jumping into high school life to enjoy athletics, help find a lost National Honor Society poster and even take a pie to the face during Spirit Week.
“He’s a principal for the kids. If any child comes to him with an issue he’s always willing to sit there and listen to it and try and work it out with you,” senior Cecilia Cortez said. “He really wants every student to succeed and will do anything to make that possible.”
Pearce agreed, adding that Albert also built great relationships with his co-workers: “I will miss his genuine affection for not only teaching and learning but more than that, the students and teachers.”
Students who are juniors this year have had Albert as their principal in middle school and almost their whole high school career. Albert not being at First Flight for the Class of 2020’s senior year is a big adjustment.
“I feel like I’ve had a pretty good relationship with him the past couple of years,” May said. “It’s definitely going to be different not having him as a principal.”
Leaving a career that one loves and is successful in is never easy, but Albert is excited for this next phase in life. And of course, First Flight will always hold a special place in his heart.
“Oh, I don’t think there’s any question, the relationships that you develop, especially with the students but also with the parents, staff and community — those are the biggest things,” Albert said.
Senior Hunter Haskett can be reached at hasketthu0318@daretolearn.org.
