As a new school year at Tunstall High School begins, there are some familiar faces around the school that have now taken on different positions. For example, Mrs. Lisa Totten went from the assistant principal to the principal. Coach Kirkland Brown went from a special education teacher to a gym teacher. Lastly, Coach Austin went from being a gym teacher to being Tunstall’s Athletic Director. It is important to take into consideration the way these individuals feel about their new positions and the way students feel about the new positions that have been taken.
Mrs. Lisa Totten says that her new position of principal is totally different from being an assistant principal; she says that she mainly has to focus on enrolling new students and all of the students’, teachers’, and parents’ needs. She enjoys connecting with people in the community and also being an influence to the students. Mrs. Totten had been an assistant principal for thirteen years, and seven of those years were spent at THS. Mrs. Totten is excited to see what the future holds with her new position. Student Leah Blackwell says, “Mrs. Totten is a great asset, and I’m very excited for Mrs. Totten to be the principal.” Blackwell also thinks that Mrs. Totten will just make the school an overall better place for everyone. One trait Mrs. Totten had as an assistant principal that Leah hopes she continues to have throughout the years she is principal at Tunstall High School is how she is always willing to talk to students when they want to talk to her.
Coach Kirkland Brown says he likes his new position because he enjoys coaching and being around sports. Coach Brown said there is much less paperwork from going from a special education teacher to a gym teacher, but it is also different because he is in a classroom keeping track ofhis students’ grades. He says one of the reasons he switched positions was due to the fact that he loves helping student athletes and just being around sports in general.
Student Rylee Tune says that she thinks Coach Brown is a favorable person in general. Rylee thinks Coach Brown will bring about good changes for the gym and student athletes. She also believes that coach Brown is a good gym teacher due to his coaching background with sports. She seems to be excited for his position change and to have him as a gym teacher.
Coach Mark Austin says he is enjoying his new position and feels that with this position, he would have a way to interact with all the sports programs instead of just the baseball program at THS. Coach Austin has always been involved with sports at THS, so he felt that this was too good of an opportunity to pass up on when he was made aware of this position opening up. Coach Austin said there is a lot more responsibility to his new position and says he is constantly having to fill out paperwork and forms to work out sports schedules.
Most students would say they are excited for these staff members to be taking on their new positions, and knowing each of these individuals, it is easy to see why. The students and faculty are excited to see what the future holds with their new positions.
