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Movin’ on - Principal ending 10-year run at Union High
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Still, perfection is what he often receives. The principal’s “It pays to go to school’’ program provides quarterly proof. At the end of each quarter Taylor takes the names of students with perfect attendance records and enters them in a drawing. The names of five students are selected and each receives $5. The program is successfully inspiring students. Each quarter 30 to 35 UHS students qualify for the drawing with perfect attendance marks. Taylor’s final drawing is nearing, for he is bound for Big Sky country. He will leave after 10 years at UHS in June to take a position as principal and athletic director of Arlee High School in Arlee, Mont. Taylor, who grew up in Great Falls, Mont., is moving there with his wife, Chris, for the opportunity to be closer to family. “It is hard to leave. It has been a great run,’’ Taylor said. A good run indeed. In Taylor’s 10-year tenure as UHS principal the school has been rated strong or exceptional almost every year by the State Department of Education. In addition, Bobcat athletic teams have flourished, winning about five state titles, and the UHS FFA, music and Future Business Leaders of America program have excelled at the state and national level. To hear Taylor talk it sounds like just a coincidence that he was here as UHS excelled. “It all comes down to the teachers and kids. I have been lucky to work with great teachers and kids,’’ Taylor said. The teachers Taylor speaks of include Tom Hayes, who is now retired and lives in Walla Walla. Hayes said teachers could always depend on Taylor to stand up for them. “He’d back you up even if it caused him stress and grief,’’ said Hayes, also a successful cross country and track coach at UHS. Hayes, who counts Taylor as a friend, said he is the type of administrator who makes people feel they are part of a team. “He is someone you work with, not just someone you work for,’’ the retired educator said.
“Kids are like family. You want them to all be successful.’’ Such words are spoken with utmost sincerity according to those who know Taylor. “He takes such an interest in all the students, from the top (the oldest) all the way to the youngest. He knows all of them,’’ said Jerry Matthews, a UHS counselor. Steve Robertson, the UHS softball coach, agrees. “He is involved with and knows all the kids. He knows what their problems are and what is going well,’’ said Robertson, a retired Union Elementary School teacher. “He genuinely likes kids and puts them first.’’ Taylor knows the UHS students and they know him. He spends more time attending their games, concerts and other events than he does in his office. He also coaches junior high football and track and is a frequent classroom visitor. Taylor enjoys doing things such as visiting biology classes to help squeamish students with pig dissection. Taylor believes it is critical that he be as visible as possible. “The kids want to see you. If kids don’t see you, they don’t think you care about what they do and their activities.’’ Much of Taylor’s time is also spent getting students moving toward a dead end turned around and headed toward graduation. Union’s minuscule dropout rate indicates Taylor is like a GPS unit when helping wrong-way students get moving in the right direction. A GPS unit with heart. “My philosophy is, ‘There are not bad kids. There are just kids who make bad choices,’ ” Taylor said. “I try to be positive even when disciplining. I don’t hold grudges.’’ In Arlee, 20 miles north of Missoula, Mont., Taylor will be at a high school about the same size as Union’s. Taylor is familiar with Montana’s state education system, which is similar to Oregon’s, because he worked as an educator there about 15 years before moving to Union. Taylor’s contributions to Union have extended past its school district. He also has served as an EMT with the Union Volunteer Ambulance Service the past four years. It means he has been called out of bed many times early in the morning to respond to emergencies and then put in a long day as principal. Such dedication is not overlooked, Matthews said. “It takes an exceptional commitment to the community to be involved at that level.’’ |
