October is National Principals Month

We love our principals every day but during #NationalPrincipalsMonth, we are excited to highlight these incredible leaders for the role they play in fostering and nurturing positive learning environments in our schools. Thank you, principals, for your commitment to students and staff and for leading with passion and vision!

Today, meet Beaver Lake Middle School Assistant Principal Andrew Stephenson as he answers a few questions so we can get to know him better.

Number of Years in Education: 13

Number of years with the ISD: 4

Who was your favorite teacher growing up and why? My high school sophomore year Current World Issues teacher, Jacob Howard at Kentwood HS in Kent, WA. He taught his students how to think for themselves, question, and make informed decisions. He never let us know what his stance on a topic was, and pushed us to consider all viewpoints. It was incredibly frustrating because there were times we just wanted to know the answers or facts, but we also had fun and left his class better than we had at the start.

Do you have a favorite quote, song or saying? If so, please share why and what this means to you!

As a former collegiate athlete, I tend to lean towards sayings by coaches because that's how my brain works. Nick Saban has a great quote that says: "If you're an average player, you want to be left alone because you want to slide by. If you're a good player, you want to be coached. If you're a great player, you want to be told the truth every day. Everybody makes a decision to do one of those three things, every day." I believe if you replace "player" with "student, teacher, parent, partner, etc." the message holds true and it inherently implies an expectation of growth. If you make the wrong choice in any given instance, there is always another opportunity coming up.
What is your favorite dish from the school cafeteria either now, or when you were growing up?

Our Beaver Lake Food Services staff are rockstars! My favorite dish they make is the Orange Chicken with Brown Rice on Thursdays. A close second is Taco Tuesday.

What would your staff and students be surprised to learn about you? I am an avid pizza maker. I make my own dough, have a mini pizza oven, and love to cook for family, friends, and staff when I can.