Some of you may know and others may not know but I have transferred schools within West Clark. I have gone from a wonderful 15 years at Henryville H.S. and will now be teaching at Silver Creek H.S. Along with teaching, coaching and attending HHS, I have spent over 25 of my 44 years in the halls of HHS. It is home. However, I thought I would take this space and answer some questions that I know will be and are being asked.
Why did you transfer? Before the tornado on March 2, 2012, I did not want to teach or coach my own children. I believed that they needed their own identity and needed to get away from mom and dad every day while at school. After the tornado, I don't care about that anymore. I want to be close to them at all times. Right or wrong, that's how I feel.
Why don't your kids go to Henryville schools? My wife and I thought about that, but we live next to SC schools, our kids attend there because we believe in the neighborhood school. We also believe that since our children will be heavily involved in the school whether it be with sports or other things, it would save us many hours, miles, and gas money to have them in the schools in our back yard.
Why don't you move to Henryville? We live in the house that my wife grew up in, in a great neighborhood, in a great location for a great price. I won't say that we will never move, but neither of us have that desire right now.
As I have gone back to HHS to clean up my room and put some things into storage, I cannot help but be saddended. The students at HHS are some of the best that there are. No doubt they have gotten me through some hard things in my own life from divorce to the tornado. If it weren't for them, I don't know where I would be, but they will go on and be successful with or without me around.
Coaching at SC last winter has shown me that there are a lot of great kids there as well. I can only hope that I have some impact on them as I did at HHS, but the greatest blessing is if they have the effect on me that teaching the students at HHS have had. I will miss HHS, but I am looking forward to a change and challenges of a new school.
