Published: August 19, 2008 09:53 pm            

South principal’s goals to encourage parent involvement, strengthen school spirit

TERRE HAUTE — Serving as principal of a school with 1,900 students carries a lot of responsibility.

But it’s something Chris Mauk said he looks forward to as the new principal at Terre Haute South Vigo High School.

“It’s a very big job, but I don’t think there’s any better job in the world,” Mauk said during a recent interview. “I love working with kids.”

He replaces Troy Fears, who stepped down to become the executive director of United Way of the Wabash Valley.

Mauk, 36, has been a South assistant principal for two years and dean for one year. Previously, he taught social studies at Terre Haute North, where he also served as a dean. He’s a 1990 North graduate.

Throughout his educational career, he’s enjoyed working with a wide variety of students, from the Advanced Placement to the at-risk. There are rewards in helping academically talented students reach their potential, and in helping those who have underperformed — or made poor choices — get back on track and find success, he said.

Among Mauk’s goals as the South principal are to encourage more parent involvement and strengthen school spirit.

“I think parent involvement is key at every level,” from athletics to academics, he said. “I think parents want to be involved. Sometimes we don’t do a good enough job asking.”

The school administration would like to see more parents involved with athletic boosters, and they’d also like to see an expanded role for the Parent Network, which met recently.

Parents are being asked for their feedback on how they’d like to be involved and what talents they can contribute.

One idea is to have more parents involved in tutoring students who need help in a certain subjects.

Mauk said he welcomes parents’ comments and ideas to help make students’ experiences at South even better.

He also wants to work on strengthening school spirit. “It’s not lacking necessarily, but you can always do better,” he said.

For one thing, he wants to get more students involved in homecoming and perhaps create more homecoming activities for underclassmen.

The job of high-school principal can be very demanding in terms of the time involved.

One of the challenges is trying to attend as many student events as possible. “There is so much going on and you want to make sure the students see you” at those events, he said. It’s important “to show them that you care — because you do.”

The administrative team takes that charge seriously, he said. “We want to make sure we’re at most of our students’ events — all that we can possibly be at.”

Another major challenge is trying to come up with ways to reach all students, including those at risk of dropping out, and to help all of them graduate.

“Sometimes we have to think out of the box,” Mauk said. That might require visiting a student’s home, talking to parents and making students aware of all their options.

The key is to never give up on those kids. “You keep plugging away,” he said. “We have to work with that individual student and make sure they have every opportunity to be successful here.”

It’s important for those students to have some adult in the school they can talk to and relate to, he said. And, it’s important those students know, “We care about them.”

South has two new assistant principals this year, Mark Kirby, formerly principal at Otter Creek Middle School, and Trina Barrett, most recently an English teacher at West Vigo High School. “I couldn’t ask for any better assistants. They are very energetic and ready to do the right thing for kids. They are really excited about this opportunity,” Mauk said.

The school also has a new athletic director, Tony Brewer.

Mauk said it can be challenging to balance work and family.

“I probably have the best wife in the world,” he said. “She makes it possible for me to do what I do. She’s very supportive and understands the hours involved.”

His wife, Shannon, is a special education teacher at Terre Haute North, and the couple have five children ages 2 to 10.

His wife frequently brings their children to school events.

Officially the principal since July 1, Mauk said he’s enjoyed his interactions with students, parents and other educators. “It’s the greatest job in the world,” he said.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.

        

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