Schools

New Principal of Kennedy High Has High Expectations for Himself, Students

Minus starts the new school year after the March exit of previous principal.

Eric Minus is busy. It's a little less than a week before school starts, he has back-to-back meetings scheduled all day, and he's still finding his way around Kennedy High School.

The new principal at John F. Kennedy High School, Minus is used to this kind of grind. When he was principal of Francis Scott Key Middle School, he was also working toward his doctorate in education administration and policy at George Washington University, and he had two children.

"You do four hours of sleep a night," he said. "I've gotten used to it."

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Raised in Montgomery County, near Four Corners in Silver Spring, Minus worked as a teacher before becoming an administrator at an assisted living center in the Norfolk, Va., area.

"I guessed the grass was greener on the other side, so I wanted to try the whole corporate thing," he said.

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But it wasn't long before he decided to go back to teaching, this time as a biology teacher at his alma mater, Montgomery Blair High School.

"One day, I'm sitting at the desk at the assisted living center, and I call my wife and say, 'I miss the kids,'" he said. "And she said, 'Oh God, what do you want to do?'"

From Blair, he became the assistant principal of White Oak Middle School and then principal of Francis Scott Key Middle School, a position he's held for the past six years.

Last March, former Kennedy principal Thomas Anderson left to open a charter school in Chicago. Ruth Green was named acting principal but moved to Newport Middle School in July as assistant principal. Minus learned he would be leading Kennedy in May.

When asked about the difference between running a high school and a middle school, Minus said he believes that the size of the school will be his steepest learning curve, not the instruction.

He also wants to set high expectations for his students. Minus' mantra: "Exceeding expectations, embracing excellence" is posted in large letters on the top of the second-floor landing.

"By the end of the year, I'm looking for a shift in the culture of the building," he said. "A shift in how we build relationships with the community and with the students."

But he knows he has some first steps as a new principal, namely building trust and trying to open the lines of communication with parents. Minus describes his management style as being visible in the school, or "management by wandering around."

On a tour around Kennedy during the week before school, Minus makes a point to say hello to anyone passing by in the halls.

He's also a parent, with one child in second grade and another entering kindergarten next year.

"I would not have my son in a Montgomery County school if I didn't think they were doing the right thing," he said.

Kennedy High School will welcome students this Monday.


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