As students returned to the building after the summer, they may have noticed a new face in the main office. As the quarter has gone by, students have become increasingly familiar with new administrator David O’Shell as he has made his presence known to any student who walks by his desk in the hallways.
O’Shell is former paraeducator and English teacher, coming to this school from Silver Creek Middle School, where he was an assistant principal. O’Shell has been in education for 20 years, starting out as a paraeducator in kindergarten in Pittsburgh, a job that sparked his desire to teach and help others. O’Shell found that his love for books inspired his reasons for teaching English. “Some books can so deeply change how you view the world, and I wanted to teach those texts. I loved teaching kids to write, especially getting kids at the beginning who hated it, but got to the end [of the year] feeling confident,” O’Shell said.
In his former role as English resource teacher, he worked closely with administrators, and became interested in serving in an administrative capacity. “I found in my experience I get bored if I do something for too long. I liked trying new things, and I liked being involved more broadly. Teaching is a great job but tough, and it’s rewarding to help,” O’Shell said.
Coming from Silver Creek, the transition from middle to high school can be challenging for teachers and administrators, but O’Shell said he has enjoyed the different experiences. “With middle school, you really deal with a lot more discipline and monitoring, like making sure that students get on their bus, but with high school, you don’t have to worry, and can focus more on academically supporting students. It’s nice to focus on my favorite things,” O’Shell said.
In just his first few months here, O’Shell already has highlights of his time so far. One highlight is the “level of academics, and seeing the teachers we have. The average experience level is 15 years, which is great to see, you have real pros. Students focus on academics, and you see everybody come into their personalities, find their clique, and what they are interested in,” O’Shell said.
As for what he hopes to bring to the school in the future, “I really am looking forward to working with teachers and getting into classrooms and helping support our students who are encountering any barriers to learning or anything keeping them from success. It’s a big job to identify and remove [those barriers],” O’Shell said.
As an assistant principal, all the work he does is sometimes unknown to students and community members. “There’s a lot I do, I’m in charge of student safety, and having a process to keep everyone safe is a real priority. I work in collaboration with the leadership team and RT’s [Resource Teachers], and counseling. I work with the school improvement plan and look at student data and identify the greatest needs. I want to support students and build relationships in the community,” O’Shell said.
For students who might not have met O’Shell yet, he said he is always excited to connect with everyone. “I am trying to be present in the hallways to see students, and meet and greet them. If [a student] ever needs anything, I’m a resource and will support with anything they need,” O’Shell said.
