Margaret Korte
Print/Podcast Editor
Principal Matt Irvin announced his retirement to the district through ParentSquare on Oct. 14, after working at WGHS for six years.
Before working at Webster, Irvin worked at multiple schools, including Kirkwood, MICDS and Lindbergh.
“I’m well traveled,” Irvin said of his career. “My background’s in social studies, but I did get certified in P.E. and taught some P.E. towards the end of my teaching career.”
According to Irvin, his decision came from a combination of different reasons. His daughter is graduating high school, and his son is graduating college at the end of the year, as well as the fact that he meets the age requirement.
As principal, Irvin said he is proud of what he has been able to accomplish with the staff and students. “It’s the people, really. Working with Dr. Simpson, our school board, our teachers in the building, our kids and students we’ve gotten the chance to work with,” Irvin said.
Irvin said one of his proudest moments as principal was during COVID. “I happened to be here during all the pandemic machinations, and I think we really pulled together and pulled through in a way that I’m very proud of what our school did at that time.”
Assistant to the principal Mickey Erb echoed that the school’s handling of the pandemic was an important part of Irvin’s role at Webster.
“He was here during the pandemic, and that was a huge weight for anybody to carry, and I think he was able to really keep students first and redesign how they learn in a very big time of uncertainty,” Erb said.
Superintendent John Simpson said as principal, Irvin “has always put the well-being of his students at the center of his decision-making, and he’s been uncompromising in that.”
“I think the educational programs and offerings at the school are significantly better than they had been [before Irvin],” Simpson said. He pointed out Irvin’s work on the Chelsea Center, the Frick Initiative and the way staff is recognized by students.
As for six years ago, Simpson said Irvin’s strength in both leadership and classroom roles were largely what got him the job, and have impacted his position as principal since.
“Having somebody that was a building-level leader that was strong on the teaching and learning side, he demonstrated that he knew high-quality teaching and learning,” Simpson said. “He had a lot of leadership skills that were either learned or natural to him. He had served in a number of different leadership capacities, both in schools and otherwise, that I was confident would transfer to his ability to lead the school.”
Simpson said Irvin has “a willingness to grow and learn,” which the district is looking for in hiring a new principal.
Erb said Irvin has made a lot of good changes to the school.
“I really love that he has a great vision for Webster Groves High School, and he’s done very thoughtful research into redesigning our education here to meet current educational trends.”
According to Erb, hiring the new superintendent will be the main focus before a new principal is selected.
“[The district is looking for] somebody that’s going to be humble enough to bring to a group of students: here’s the issue that we’re going to solve, here’s the issue that we’re wrestling with, what are your thoughts related to it?” Simpson said.
Overall, according to Simpson, the new WGHS principal should have a “collaborative approach”: someone who puts students first, an ability to adapt and be flexible and be able to consult with students as well as parents and teachers.
The essential question, Simpson said, is “Who’s that best person to take where we are and help us move forward?”
“I wish him all the best in his next chapter, and like every other hire in our school district, we’re always looking to find somebody who will be great and take us forward from where we are,” Simpson said. “Don’t ever look to stay static, don’t ever look to go backwards, always looking to go forwards.”
Feature Photo: Principal Matt Irvin prepares a presentation to students over options for where to place additional 15 minutes in the 2020-2021 school year. Photo by Elise Keller.
This ECHO Podcast is introduced and outro’d and edited by print/podcast editor Margaret Korte.
Print/podcast editor Margaret Korte reports about Dr. Matt Irvin’s retirement announcement.
Music is:
Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
“Beauty Flow” by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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Margaret Korte–Print/Podcast EditorThis will be Margaret Korte’s second year on ECHO staff. She made several contributions while taking journalism class her freshman year. |
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