By Dylan Mitchell, Editor-In-Chief
She may be the principal of River Hill, but Kathryn McKinley is just like you and me. She’s a huge Ravens fan, watches Grey’s Anatomy, and orders a burrito bowl with chicken, white rice, cheese, and pico de gallo from Chipotle.
Before being appointed principal at River Hill, McKinley served as the Howard County Public School System’s director of curriculum and principal of Mount View Middle school for the six years prior to that.
The new school year, especially with a new principal, brings on a lot of challenges, but also excitement. Just like most students, McKinley is “really looking forward to being part of a school community with students, teachers, and parents.”
McKinley may be new to River Hill, but she is already taking a huge liking to the students. Prepared to create the best environment for all of the students she explains “my first priority is them (the students). I’m always going to do what’s in the best interest of students.”
There’s no doubt the focus at River Hill is going to be on the students, and for the best interest of the student body. The point isn’t to graduate or to just pass a class, but instead, McKinley wants students to look back at high school and say “it was one of the greatest times of their lives, and they felt like they could balance their academics, activities, and personal choices.”
Even with a pretty smooth transition, there’s still a learning curve. With some miscommunications or questions about certain policies, McKinley recommends that if students “have a question, they should ask it.”
Asking about a certain topic or question is something being emphasized to ensure the students, staff and administration are all on the same page. Conversation is being strongly encouraged, even if it’s just a friendly talk about interests.
Conversations like these could help create an increase in engagement between all different bodies of the school. Whether it’s administration or teachers throughout the building, McKinley wants “to see a shift in staff engagement so they are engaged beyond their classrooms, and so they want to be a part of the whole school.”
The most important part of this transition to a new principal is that she wants to be here, and feels blessed to have an opportunity to be at River Hill. McKinley explain that “when they offered me River Hill, I had no idea I would get River Hill. I knew it was going to be a high school, but I really feel I was in the right place at the right time, with all the right people.”
The River Hill community is certainly ready to embrace McKinley just as much as she is ready to embrace the community. It’s always hard to make changes, but in this case, everybody seems to already be on the right path to success.