Among the other holidays that occupy fall, National Principals Month also occurs. And just last week Houston Inside Sports named principal Eric King Community Leader of the Week. He was nominated by quarterback DJ Lagway.
Students, staff and teachers recognize the impact King has made on the school since taking the helm last spring.
“I think this year with Mr. King’s positive energy and friendliness everybody is able to follow the rules better because they agree with his perspective,” junior Evangeline Munaretto said
Students appreciate King being the principal this year, and many feel a difference from past years. Students say he has always been a kind administrator who shows kindness to everyone even if he is in a position of authority. Students on campus showed their appreciation for King by signing a large poster that hung next to his office.
“He is really understanding and I think it could be because he also has a teenage daughter, so he understands teenagers’ point of view better,” junior Marisol Gonzalez said.
Students believe he is an understanding principal. They attribute it to him being the father of two girls, one being a teenager, as well. They feel like they are understood, which creates a welcoming atmosphere for students where they feel like they want to show up to school every day and try their best.
“I was so excited when he became the principal because I knew he was going to lead us and it was going to become an even more amazing place to work. He’s very patient and that ” secretary Renea Alley said.
Not only is King cherished by students, but also by the staff who work directly with and around him here. He has proven himself to be a great mentor for teachers to learn from and staff from around the school see him as a leader. In fact, King is currently taking a leadership class at Rice University.
“He is always very welcoming to people and he makes sure everyone is listened to,” secretary Miriam Hulings said.
The staff feel welcomed and listened to. Similarly to the student’s point of view, they see him as a kind, understanding, and thoughtful leader. By listening to everyone and embracing different opinions from staff and students, King can try to “Raise The Bar” for everyone.
“I love Mr. King I think he brought back the family environment back to Willis,” said Cross Country Coach, Leechelle Lara.
Teachers see that Mr King tries to open our school to encourage family and friend-like connections with everyone. Mr King has been in education for about 20 years and he has been in Willis ISD since 2013. He has been an assistant principal at Lynn Lucas and was an assistant principal here before becoming the interim principal. Because of his long time here at Willis, Mr. King is familiar with the family atmosphere that we embrace as a small-town school. He embraces creating connections with teachers and students and making everyone feel welcome.
“I feel a difference this year and the times I’ve talked to him he’s been nice. He makes us follow the rules but he isn’t uptight about it, and like he lets us have piercings, and last year we couldn’t.” senior Ana Calderon said.
It seems like the students, teachers, and staff all have one similar consensus. King is a great leader and principal. The students think that he is fair with everyone, which makes them feel like it’s easy to follow the rules. Students appreciate Kings effort at helping to remove rules that students viewed as unnecessary and outdated.
