After the district decided to move forward with the decision to cut administrative staff around the district we ended up losing some of our very own. West Forsyth High School is entering a period of change, with the unfortunate loss of several staff members at West Forsyth, we have been given the opportunity to receive new staff members from the rift as a result of that loss. From this, we have acquired Chad Tesh and Traci Latta, two Assistant Principals (AP) from the rift. Mrs. Latta is a new assistant principal, having previously been the principal of Diggs-Latham Elementary School, while Mr. Tesh was previously an assistant principal at Oak Grove High School, Glenn High School, and will be coming back to West after being let go in the rift.
“I am glad to be coming back to West, even though it is for unfortunate reasons. Losing two family members who had their jobs moved because of budget issues, so that reason is no good, but I am glad to come back where I am familiar with being,” Assistant Principal Chad Tesh Said.
While the circumstances of the move may not be ideal, both are welcomed with open arms. However, since Tesh has been here before, it is natural to wonder what his plans would be once he returned.
“Hopefully, just keeping things going as smoothly as possible. Everything is so crazy for you guys and the staff. We have lost a lot of staff, and class sizes are bigger, so it is harder for teachers to try and teach, harder to keep things covered. But we have to try and keep things as normal as we possibly can, despite all the challenges,” Tesh said.
While the loss of staff and bigger classroom spaces may seem like a downside for the school, it does provide our teachers and staff a chance to show how they shine through rough times. Seamless transitions through immense change are what is best for the people affected by it, and this is what both of our new assistant principals want.
“What I would like to do is to make this transition as seamless as possible and make it feel like nothing really changed. Try not to drop the ball. And just make sure everything runs smoothly, I do not have any grand ambitions, but I do want to make sure all the responsibilities that I have I do to the best of my ability, and things work as they should,” Assistant Principal Traci Latta said.
While during her first year of being an assistant principal at West, Ms. Latta may not have had anything planned out, but it is already hard to take on the role of a high school assistant principal from an elementary school teacher even with her previous different experiences.
“Well, I had a lot of experience as a High School English teacher, and I also had another role at Reynolds when I was there that enabled me to do some AP duties during my principal internship, so I already have a pretty good, solid background on how things work at a high school. But I am one of the last people that some of you guys might see before you go out into the real world. My job was always to make sure that you guys are prepared when you walk out that stage and out to the real world, that you know what’s coming and that you can handle it,” Latta said.
While these changes are coming in fast students and staff with very little time to prepare, this will be a great opportunity to show its spirit and understanding in desperate times.
