Tim Winter isn’t your ordinary supervisor. I have never seen a man who cared so much about his job and put forth his best effort every single day. My first year at Peninsula High School I was struggling with a class and Mr. Winter came to the class and was trying to help me find a different class that would help my schedule. I still remember to this day that he drew a little star on his hand and said “This will remind me your name, Will Foley, and I will switch you out of this class.” When he first told me this, I didn’t really believe it because I was just a freshman and there were 2000 other students, I didn’t think he would remember my name. But from that day on he said good morning to me with my name every day, along with the other students. He knew almost every kids name in the school and he cared for each individual student. Mr. Winter is the most caring and respected educational leader I have ever met. Tim Winter is from Clarkston County, Washington. He was born and raised there and felt that he needed to give back to his childhood town. The Superintendent job in Clarkston County appeared, and Tim Winter jumped on it immediately.
Growing up both of Tim’s parents “were teachers/administrators.” From his childhood to now, he has been involved in the educational system and seen how it works, which is why he is one of the best leaders around. As Tim went through college he told himself “to not be a teacher like his parents.” But as he went from class to class, deep in his heart he knew that he needed/ wanted to be a teacher. So he followed in his parents footsteps and took the career path of teaching.
When talking to Tim about his favorite and least favorite part of becoming a superintendent he immediately expressed that he misses “having direct interaction with the students.” Knowing Tim Winter, this was a very difficult change for him because he wants to be able to help every student, but he can’t because that is no longer his job. Tim’s favorite part about being the principle at Peninsula High School was that he “was around students every day.” His favorite part of the new job in Clarkston is what he calls the “back stage pass.” Tim gets to “see all of the inner-workings of the district.” Tim no doubt misses his everyday experience with the students, but now he is able to observe the whole school district and see how it works. Since he is in power of the whole school district, he is able to “influence an entire organization and in turn, the community.” This Superintendent job for Tim may not be the same as his old Principle job, but he still finds a way to help students and the community.
Tim is no stranger to the educational system and sees many flaws in it. Tim believes that “we have lost the ability of the art of teaching and have only been able to focus on the science of teaching.” All around the United States schools have become “focused on scores and sometimes forget about the whole student.” Just like Derrick Jensen in How Not to Teach, Tim believes that teachers “need to focus on the positive power of student teacher relationships” because this will help set the student up for success. Great leaders and teachers that students have had in their life are “remembered from the way they cared, not from the lessons they taught.” One of Tim’s special capabilities is his level of care. He shows the same respect to 4.0 students and to students that are struggling to pass classes.
One of the biggest issues Tim sees in the Clarkston School District is the level of trust. There is “distrust from teachers toward administrators and politicians.” The teachers don’t believe that the way the politicians tell them to teach is the correct way. This is leading to teachers teaching half-heartedly. This puts forth the idea that the leaders in the educational system don’t trust our teachers to do their job. “We need our teachers to feel valued and trusted so that they can do the work they dreamed of doing,” because if they don’t have the trust, they will not be teaching to their full capability.
Tim Winter has been around the educational system for 40 years and has practically mastered the system. He realizes that he needs to build bonds with students in order to make them feel like they matter at the school, so he focuses on “sharing the love” (He created this month while I was at Peninsula High School). Tim is aware that there are flaws in the educational system and he is trying to fix them by giving teachers the trust and the power to develop the full student.
I would personally like to thank Tim Winter for doing this interview with me, and all of the things he has done for me and all the other students throughout school. His presence on me has changed me into a stronger individual.