Secondary principal begins new duties
By Donnie A. Lucas
Albany secondary students and staff will have a new leader when the school year starts, with the hiring of new principal Glen Hill approved by the school board last month.
Hill began working in the office on Monday, June 15 and will keep regular office hours, 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays during the month of July.
The new principal is currently commuting from Knox City where he served as principal the past two years, but he has plans to move his family to Albany within the next week.
An Aspermont native and graduate, Hill received his bachelor of behavioral science degree at Hardin-Simmons University. He later completed his master of education and obtained his superintendent’s certification at West Texas A&M University.
Hill has been busy working on the bell schedule, class scheduling, and updating the campus handbook.
He is pleased with the transition to his new school thus far.
“The transition is going well,” Hill said. “Everyone has been very encouraging and helpful.”
He noted that it has been quiet in the halls of the high school where his office is located.
“There aren’t a lot of people around yet, so that makes it tough,” the self-described people person said.
Hill is married to Jayton native Kelsea Hill, a speech pathologist. The couple has a son Whitten, age 3.
He said that he and his wife were looking for a larger community with more opportunities, but they didn’t want to get too far away from their families.
“The success of Albany ISD has always been impressive to us as a family, and we wanted to be a part of that,” he said. “We are excited to learn and grow from the people we come in contact with and be able to serve where needed.”
Growth is the key word for Hill’s leadership style.
“Our main focus will be to develop a culture based on growth for students and even the staff,” he said. “I want us to work together to set goals for growth each year and have the kids set a plumb line based on growth that allows them to see what success looks like as they become adults.”
The principal said that he has a new theme that he will introduce to the staff during staff development days and to the students on the first day of class on Aug. 19.
Hill said the school day will be similar to what students and teachers are accustomed to, starting at 8:00 a.m. and continuing until 3:35 p.m.
One change he is making is to move the advisory period from the morning to the afternoon, rebranding it as the “WIN” period – “What I Need.”
The 25-minute period will include help for students who can benefit from extra instruction to meetings and possibly UIL practice.
Lunch period for the junior high will be moved to 11:20 a.m., while the high school is set for 12:10 p.m.
Hill said that he is pushing out a Facebook page for the campus to provide information to the community and to showcase the types of instruction and projects being conducted in classrooms.
Prior to serving as principal in Knox City, Hill served two years as the secondary principal at Crosbyton and one year as an assistant principal at Frenship ISD.
He started his teaching career in 2010 at Crosbyton, serving as a teacher and coach for three years before moving to Frenship ISD, where he taught two years as an advanced social studies teacher.
He brings a total of five years of administrative experience with him, along with five years as a classroom teacher.
Hill said that he is planning on face-to-face instruction starting on Aug. 19, although it will depend on future decisions made by the governor and TEA concerning COVID-19.
“I will be concentrating on helping create a culture and mindset to get kids excited about school, especially considering the school year that just concluded,” he said.
