The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

Dr. Garran Leaves WJ (Continued from Print Pitch)

In the final issue of the Pitch from the 2010-2011 school year, we sat with Dr. Garran for an interview about leaving WJ. Unfortunately, the Print Pitch could not fit his entire interview into the newspaper, so we provided it below for your enjoyment.

How has your opinion of and view of WJ changed from your time at WJ?

When I was first teaching here, I didn’t understand the complexities of the school when it comes to the scheduling, the staffing and the budget. You see that whole other side of the school when you become principal. And trying to make the best decisions that I could about [which departments] get [what resources].

What part of being principal do you find the hardest?

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I don’t know if it’s just being a principal, but being in this role, what I found most difficult by far was having to deal with some tragedies in our community. When we lost Holt Weeks, Karl Savage and Carolyn Ott . . . On one hand, I was honored to be a part of remembering those people, but it’s definitely the most difficult.

When you first started in the position of principal, what were you hoping to accomplish or change?

The idea was not to change anything, but to help WJ go from excellent to exceptional. The creation of the Minority Scholars Program was something we thought was really important early on. The Access to College Program was something I thought we needed here; there was a need to provide [first-generation college students] with support. I also wanted to look at the senior year and try to change it up a little from the typical seven period day, so we worked really hard to get the University of Maryland Young Scholars Program negotiated. I am also very happy with the modernization, which took a lot of time, and a lot of my hair, or at least took the brown out of it and made it gray, but I’m happy with where we are there.

How has WJ changed since you first started working here?

Oh, it’s gotten far worse; I’ve led it astray. We now have Pong competitions and Burrito Miles and we have staff members being duct taped to walls and for an entire month we’re not shaving, and the place is just going crazy; that’s why I have to leave, so we can restore some order here.

WJ’s always been a phenomenal community and school, but I think that we’ve seen an increase in [school] spirit. What the students have done since I’ve been here with regard to Every Fifteen Minutes and Pennies for Patients: what an incredible, awesome statement about the students here. But I didn’t come up with the ideas; I didn’t come up with the idea for a Burrito Mile, for a Water Pong game to raise money for people with leukemia and lymphoma, but hopefully I created an environment in which kids felt comfortable coming to me, and actually bringing up these crazy ideas, and we came up with ways to support them, even when I was a little uncomfortable with the ideas. . . .but I think it’s been well received here. That’s what makes this place so great.

Is there anything that you had to do in your role as principal that you won’t miss having to do in your new job?

The biggest change is that I won’t have direct, daily contact with students. And that’s what I will actually miss the most.

If you could have done anything differently over your tenure at WJ, what would it be?

I would have done the Burrito Mile once. I would have given it a shot. I kind of was on the sidelines; I wasn’t supposed to be there necessarily, but I showed up once in a while. I think I could have eaten the burrito and done the mile, no problem. I think I could have actually beaten a couple of the kids. It’s my one regret; I missed that opportunity. I might have to come back and do that.

What will you be doing in your new job as community superintendent?

I will support, monitor and supervise 36 schools in MCPS. In order for the county superintendent to manage all the schools, the county is broken into six regions, and there are community superintendents who mange the regions and report back to him. I will be overseeing the WJ, B-CC, Whitman and Wheaten clusters. I will also be doing some more work at the central offices; system-wide initiatives in different areas.

How much involvement do you think you will have at WJ in the future?

[My new job] will give me the opportunity, which is really nice, to be present and to visit here. And coming from WJ, I’ll be open to any invitations from anyone involved with any events going on here. And as community superintendent I will continue to attend WJ graduations, which will especially be nice for students of the next three years, for students that I know here.

How much input will you have in choosing WJ’s new principal?

I will sit in on the panel who will interview the candidates for principal. The community superintendent and I will gather input from the panel and then together make a recommendation to the superintendent of one or two candidates, and then he makes the recommendation to the Board of Education. So I anticipate I will have a very active role in the process. It’s very important to me; I’m not about to leave WJ without making sure it’s a great person who’s the next principal here.

What qualities are you looking for in a new principal?

What some of the students told me is that you need to find somebody who will be okay with being duct taped to a wall and who will be in the Homecoming movie. And I’m also looking for a cameo in the next Homecoming video. But I want somebody who will respect the culture and community here, and who can encourage it, and thrive on the openness of the school, and have a willingness to let students lead.

What advice would you give WJ’s next principal?

When the new principal is appointed, the first thing I’m going to say to that person is: ‘You just got the best job in the school system, and you’d better respect it.’ Because it is the best job; I’m giving up the best job in the school system. And so they had better appreciate it. I just want them to understand how lucky and privileged they are.

What are some of your favorite memories from WJ?

Obviously graduations; they’re great days. To see students that you’ve gotten to know over the years come across that stage and to know that they’re going on to do great things with their lives is great. I’ve enjoyed being duct taped to the wall. I love going to the events at WJ, whether it’s sporting events, or concerts, or theater productions. And Homecoming movies. I have to be honest, those are fun.

If you could change anything about WJ, what would it be?

I shouldn’t have been a bad guy in so many of the Homecoming movies. Why is the SGA always the hero, and I need to be saved? What is going on? Why am I stuck in a shed for the whole movie, and they’re running around saving the day? So I think I was miscast by not being the hero in the Homecoming movies. That’s it.

What did you learn from being principal and how did being principal change you as a person?

It made me realize that high school principal-ship is the best job out there. I already knew this job was great, but when you’re in my perspective you see it all, and it’s a truly privileged job to be in. My wife is the principal at Ashburton [Elementary School], and she absolutely loves it. I mean it’s stressful, and you have people that are not happy with you a lot of the time, but it’s a great job.

What do you see yourself doing in ten to fifteen years?

Breathing. Still being alive. I think there are a lot of possibilities; I wouldn’t rule out the idea of possibly moving to the superintendence level, or a different type of experience like going to a private school, or going back to another high school and being a principal, or teaching more at the university level. The most important thing that I will be doing in 10 to 15 years is that my wife is expecting our first child in September, it’s going to be a boy, so I’m sure that by then he will be a terror, and I will probably be on a first-name basis with his principal, so he will be testing me and I will be running around trying to control him. He will be getting revenge on me for all the students I’ve disciplined at WJ.

If you could choose one accomplishment that defined your role as principal, what would it be?

Oh boy. One year I used my keys, which were in my pocket, to actually get myself off the wall when I was duct tapped to it [for Pennies for Patients], instead of having them cut me down. I bet them that I could get myself down from the wall. And my keys were in my pocket, so it took me all of fifth period, but I did it. I got myself down. I won the bet. I think they were impressed. I mean, think about it, that’s a slow process of cutting yourself out. And then when you finally do break through the tape, you fall forward pretty fast. Luckily they caught me.

Are you planning the principal-version of a “senior prank” to carry out on WJ students during your last days as principal?

That’s an interesting idea. I’ll have to keep that in mind. I can see it now, like I don’t sign any of their diplomas? So then they’re not legit. The seniors will just look at the diplomas and go, ‘It’s not signed! So it’s not real!’ That would actually be pretty funny. . . maybe not.

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