Brockport Today

Path to Principal

Student transitions from teacher to principal – before even completing his program.

When Randall Yu enrolled in the School Building Leader/School District Leader program, he wasn’t even sure he’d make it through the first class.

“I was just dipping my toe in the water,” said Yu. “I was a coach and a teacher at the time and I loved it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go down the road of becoming an administrator. But my first class hooked me.”

And he thrived.

Before even completing the program, Yu has accepted two different administrative roles in the Brockport Central School District. He first became an assistant principal at Brockport Ginther Elementary School and was recently promoted to become the school’s principal.

Yu credits the work he did in his graduate program with preparing him to succeed as an administrator.

“The program really makes you think about real-world scenarios that are happening in schools right now,” said Yu. “I went through the program during the pandemic, so there were a lot of scenarios about managing COVID. I got a lot out of working through those.”

He says the program also helped him understand that becoming an administrator was just an extension of teaching.

“Administration doesn’t mean you’re leaving teaching, you’re teaching in a different way,” he said. “I realized that as a teacher I could make an impact on 23 students in my classroom and their families. As an administrator, I can make an overall impact on 450 students and their families.”

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