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New principal hired for Millboro Elementary School
By Cynthia B. Coleman • Staff Writer
Warm Springs - After a called closed session, the Bath County School Board voted to appoint Wesley "Wes" Eary as Millboro Elementary School's new principal.
Eary, of Powhatan, was principal of Jouett Elementary School in Louisa County until June 30; he will begin his duties at MES officially on Wednesday, July 23.
"The things that dreams are made of," said Eary when asked about managing a small school as MES.
Eary said there are problems in any job, and nothing is ever perfect. "In a small school," he said, "certain things become trickier, certain things become more difficult, certainly in the situation we (MES) are in right now."
Eary referred to MES teachers being shared with other Bath County schools. "That becomes complicated," he said. "But when you look at managing, observing and evaluating two handfuls of teachers instead of 50 - 55 to 60 or a staff of 100 - I have colleagues that I won't tell how large my school is and I have others that I will most definitely tell with a great big smile."
Eary believes there are real advantages to a smaller school. Rather than saying it is best to have a small teacher to student ratio, Eary would say MES has a "better" teacher/ student ratio.
"I am a firm believer that this is a relationship business," he said about teaching. "The most important thing to happen in any school is that relationship between teachers and students. And when you've got a dozen in your classroom, or 18 in the classroom, it's no secret you're going to get results differently than if you have 28 in your classroom."
When asked what he hopes to bring to MES, Eary said, "It has the tradition of being a warm, welcoming place and that is something I absolutely have to have no matter where I go. So I look to maintain that tradition."
Eary also believes MES has high expectations for students and good communication with parents. Eary looks to maintain those traits. "And if they are not exactly there," he said with a laugh, "then those are things I intend to institute."
Eary was raised in Oak Lawn, a suburb outside of Chicago, Ill., and received a B.A. in elementary education from National College of Education in Evanston, Ill. and an M.A. and Ed.S. from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Currently, Eary is in Virginia Tech's doctoral program in education administration with his classwork done and a dissertation before him, which he hopes to have completed by December.
Before he was the principal in Louisa, Eary spent four years as principal of the Elementary School in Amelia County.
Before moving to Virginia, Eary spent 15 years teaching in Orland Park, southwest of Chicago, teaching middle school science and math and science and reading to gifted students in fourth and fifth grades.
When asked what brought him to the South, Eary laughed. "I met this woman who lived in Virginia who said, 'Darling, ain't no way I'm doing a Chicago winter.' I lived my whole life in Chicago … and then I met this woman who just did her level best to convince me my life wouldn't be the same without her. So I had to chose between eternal cold or everlasting love." Eary and his wife Dana celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary last week.
When the "fit" he had at the Louisa County school changed, Eary decided to make a move to a new school and applied to several school systems. The first thing that made Bath County appealing to him was its beauty, while the second was having met Bath County School Superintendent, Dr. David Smith, previously at a conference. "His was a face that I knew," Eary said.
"When I learned more about school, the size of the school, that the people are very involved in it - that's all very attractive things," he said. "When someone says we'd like you to come in for a second interview and you should know there is a board meeting immediately afterwards, that gives you a pretty good idea you need to be ready to make that decision." Eary was absolutely ready to make that decision.
Eary's familiar face, Dr. Smith, is on vacation this week and is unable to comment on the appointment of MES' new principal. However, the school board's Millboro district representative Dreama Burns was delighted and eager to talk about the new principal.
After Eary answered questions from school board members and ran through scenarios thrown up by them, Burns found herself sitting back and watching him, fascinated. "As I was listening to him talk, he reminded me of what President (Theodore) Roosevelt said, 'Speak softly but carry a big stick.' I've never seen that in human form until yesterday (Monday). I think his presence is strong and I think he is going to (take care) of whatever problems MES has had with discipline. I think he can take care of all of that in the best possible way. The scenarios that the board gave him … he didn't have a problem with anything. That's what Millboro needs. I was very, very impressed with him.
"Everybody (in Millboro) seems really tickled to have him and I am, too. I am so excited because that's my district, so I was really excited we got someone that good. It is hard to lure people to Bath County."
She took time Monday to speak with Eary after the board meeting. "I told him he had a quiet demeanor about him but his presence is strong. I said, 'You've got great teachers there … you've got all the materials there. The clay is there - all you have to do is mold it and put it together.' I think he is going to do a great job … I have great expectations from him. I think he is going to work well."
Dr. Deborah Pettit, superintendent of Louisa County Schools, said Eary will be a good fit for Millboro Elementary and Bath County.
"He was principal for three years at one of our elementary schools (Jouett)," Pettit said. "And that elementary school had high test scores. They met the Adequate Yearly Progress (National Assessment of Educational Progress) and they were fully accredited. While he was there, their achievement improved. In our neck of the woods, that is high praise for someone."
Pettit said Eary is bright, articulate and has many great new ideas. "When he came to us, one of his new ideas," she said, "was analyzing student data and we implemented a lot of those. What you will find is a person with a lot of energy and a new perspective on things … He has a great sense of humor and a way with words … He is accustomed to working with a more experienced faculty, which I believe that school has. You will find he will be a great fit for (MES)."
With the current housing market, the Earys chose to keep their house in Powhatan for now with Dana living and working in the area. Wes will look for a place in and about Millboro to live.
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