The new school year brought lots of new teachers, staff, and administrators, including Mr. Christopher Haskins, our new superintendent! I interviewed Mr. Haskins so we, as a student body, could get to know him, and let him get to know a little about us! The following are the questions I asked, the answers he gave, and some insight into what we can look forward to for this year with new leadership.
I started off by asking Mr. Haskins about his hobbies, interests, and his previous experience with schools. We know who he is and the position he holds, but we know very little about him and what he enjoys doing. He revealed to us that he is a father of three, and that working in schools as a teacher, vice principal, and superintendent has been his passion for many, many years. He is busy a lot, but in his free time, he plays instruments such as guitar and piano. He also likes skiing, running and hiking. Other than that, he has worked in various school systems before deciding to make the change to Tiverton.
This revelation brought me to my next question, was he overwhelmed by such a big change and into such a big role? He told me that it hasn’t been super overwhelming because Tiverton has such a great community of teachers and students. Inheriting the issues with the budget, resignation of our principal, and the staff reduction following the closing of Fort Barton is definitely a challenge, but one he believes that he and his team can overcome, and he has proven so with the hiring of Dr. Keough, the new Principal. He also noted that the previous admin set him up for success before their departure, creating a schedule and plan for the new year that made things a lot smoother.
Next, I wanted to further understand Mr. Haskins intentions and expectations for the next year, as it would be a very crucial period of his career here at THS. He told me that most importantly, he wanted to focus on trust and communication, not only with teachers, but students, administrators, parents, and elected officials as well. He believes that trust and communication are the foundation of a job and relationship with his peers, and both play a crucial role in the responsibility he has as superintendent. He described this year as a “listening and learning tour” where he will be learning the ropes of the schools and listening to his colleagues and students to be the best he can be.
His expectations inspired me to dig into asking about anything he was excited for versus nervous about this year. He shared that he was excited stepping into a school with such a fantastic state wide reputation, interactive and involved community, and a renowned academic success rate. He told us that while he doesn’t have bad anxieties of stress about the year, he knows that he has big shoes to fill, and wants this to be a good year for everyone.
I wanted to end the interview off with his own personal feelings about his year so far, so I asked two final questions, aimed more towards himself and his anticipations for this year. The first question was: “Has meeting all these new coworkers and colleagues, along with all the new students, been hectic? Has it been refreshing working with new people?” He responded that the process and adventure has been very refreshing, and he has enjoyed meeting so many new people. He misses his old students and coworkers, but has been very happy meeting all the new students, and tries to say hi and chat when he has free time.
My final question was if there was anything else he wanted to share about himself or his experience, and he told me that his biggest wish is that he wants this to be a school where every student feels like they belong. He also shared his belief that athletics AND arts are important, and that every student’s interest has value. He encourages students to jump into CTE and advancement placement programs to further their educational journey. Lastly, he asks students to introduce themselves. He wants to meet as many people as he can, and you can’t have a relationship without a name! So make sure you say “Hi!” to our new Superintendent Mr. Haskins.
