SHS’s Thibault named Vermont High School Principal of the Year

Bob Thibault, principal at Springfield High School for the past six years, has been named Vermont's High School Principal of the Year.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150408/NEWS02/704089901

SHS’s Thibault named Vermont High School Principal of the Year By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 08,2015 Vermont High School Principal of the Year Bob Thibault at his desk in Springfield High School SPRINGFIELD — Bob Thibault, father of seven children, could easily be your favorite uncle. He knows kids. Easy-going, but with clear expectations, kind but firm, with a good sense of humor: A top-notch high school principal. When a group of kids walked out of school three weeks ago to protest the firing of the popular high school varsity football coach, Thibault told them, as a former U.S. history teacher, he was a fan of free speech. But there are consequences to free speech, he warned the students. It’s part of the school’s Cosmos Code. So Thibault served the Saturday morning detention along with his students, a combination of solidarity and following through on his discipline. Thibault is the award-winning principal of Springfield High School, and while his JOB DESCRIPTION probably doesn’t say it, he is a substitute uncle to more than 450 students making the uneasy transition from childhood to almost adulthood. Thibault, 44, who has been principal at SHS since 2009, is Vermont’s 2015 High School Principal of the Year, in honor of his work in Springfield. “I feel embarrassed,” said Thibault during an interview in his office TUESDAY MORNING. “It really is a team effort,” praising the work of his assistant principal, Bindy Hathorn and the district’s curriculum director, David Cohn, as well as his teachers, support staff and secretaries. The Dummerston father of seven children, who range in age from 3 to a SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL, said the town and its students and parents have been through a lot in recent history. The school was at a low point when Thibault was hired to be co-principal at the school, along with an older principal who was lured out of retirement to work with Thibault for a year. He became principal by himself in 2010. The school was suffering from one of the highest drop-out rates in the state and one of the lowest graduation rates; on top of that, student test scores were consistently at the bottom of Vermont schools, he said. And, he said, in large part, the students ran the school: the hallways were full of kids not attending class. He was the ninth principal in 18 years. The transition to a more structured and rules-oriented school did not always come easy, he said, and more kids dropped out. Thibault in his first full year as principal, hired the man who is now his boss: Superintendent Zachary McLaughlin, to be his assistant principal. Together, he recalled, they decided the most important thing to do was to improve INSTRUCTION at the school, something that is an ongoing priority. McLaughlin announced Thibault’s honor late last week, saying that he was selected for his successes in improving instruction, cultivating leadership in others, building a positive school climate, and shaping a vision for the school. “While his presence has been stabilizing, it also has been galvanizing,” said McLaughlin in his announcement. “During his time at Springfield High School, test scores and graduation rates are on the rise and behavioral incidents have decreased steadily.” On Tuesday, the microwave smoke incident triggered a true fire alarm. In previous years it might not have been so obvious. Without a moment’s hesitation, Thibault walked to the corner of his office and donned a hunter’s orange mesh vest. “I don’t think this is a planned drill,” he said, grabbing a walkie-talkie and quickly finding out the fire alarm had gone off because of something overcooked in a microwave oven in the River Valley Tech Center. That didn’t stop the hundreds of students and dozens of staff members from streaming out of the school. But Thibault took it all in stride. Thibault came to Springfield High School in the summer of 2009 from the Mohawk Trail Regional High School and Middle School in Shelburne Falls., Mass., where he had been the assistant principal. Thibault, a native of Mansfield, Mass., had graduated from the University of Vermont with a DEGREE IN history, and he said it was his love of history — and talking about it — that attracted him into teaching. After teaching as Missisquoi Union High School in Swanton, he transferred to Leland and Gray Union High School in Townshend, where he taught history for 12 years. Thibault and McLaughlin are still a team: McLaughlin from the school district’s offices at Park Street School, about a mile away from the high school. Thibault said the lure to be an administrator rather than a high school U.S. history teacher was one of wanting to have an influence on as many kids as possible. He could influence 20 kids at a time in a class room, 60 to 80 kids in a day, he said. But as principal, he said, he could make kids’ lives better, “500 or 600, or 1,000 kids at a time.”