Cape junior high principal steps down for private-sector job

Roy Merideth stood before his students and teachers, his second family, days before Christmas and informed them he wouldn't be returning in the second semester.

The principal at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School for the past five-and-a-half years broke the news that he was leaving to take another job.

The news came as a surprise to the students, gathered at the all-school assembly and talent show. But Merideth said he was most surprised, and touched, by the "heartwarming" response he received from some of his more behaviorally troubled students -- the ones most often in hot water with their principal.

"One girl I had a particularly contentious relationship with was crying after school and hugging me. She said, 'I don't want you to go,'" Merideth said. "She would be one of the last people I thought would be that emotional about me leaving."

It's those little surprises, the connections, the chance to make a daily difference in the educational lives of hundreds of children, that Merideth said he already misses most. He said he hadn't planned to leave midyear, a move that came as a surprise to his superintendent and his bosses on the school board.

"I was looking for something different, so I decided to take a leap of faith," he said of taking a sales consultant position with Washington-based School Specialty Planning and Student Development.

He said he became familiar with the educational products and services company while principal and that he liked the firm's mission and work.

The company needed a salesperson and needed a decision quickly. So he submitted his resignation to the Cape Girardeau School Board and began a new career after more than 15 years in Southeast Missouri education. Assistant principal Alan Bruns is serving as interim principal.

Merideth, 44, said the money in his private-sector job is a bit better, the benefits are comparable, but above all the work in educational planning puts him on track for his dream job.

"My dream is to be in professional development and planning, to help teachers be better teachers and help students learn," he said. "I see it as a steppingstone."

He spoke excitedly about the research his company is involved in, research Merideth said will help a generation of multimedia-saturated students improve critical planning and study skills.

Still, Merideth is candid about what he sees as the bureaucratic drawbacks of being an administrator in standards-based public education, which was a factor in his decision to leave.

"My job over past five and a half years has increasingly become more and more about being in my office, answering e-mail, putting together reports, filling out forms," he said.

Stress and anxiety

He found he was spending much less time working with teachers, providing feedback and finding the resources necessary to improve learning and reach students. The stress and anxiety over the constant preparation for the Missouri Assessment Program takes a toll on school morale, Merideth said.

"I don't know any other industry that has the standard of expectation that education does," he said. "If I have to go to the school board and give my report why my building didn't make AYP [annual yearly progress], I can't say half the children were having bad day or were tired. They'll say, 'Here it is, and you have to do better.'

"It's frustrating because teachers are working very hard, and it's gut-wrenching when we get those MAP scores back and we have to say we didn't make it. That's something I will not miss."

Stress levels should continue to rise for educators as proficiency standards in math and communications arts under the federal No Child Left Behind Act climb to 100 percent by 2014. Jim Welker, superintendent for the Cape Girardeau School District, said stress comes with the territory.

"I think we're going to continue to see responsibilities placed on people to be more accountable," he said. "It's something that takes the additional time and effort, but we are committed to continuing to improve."

Welker said he doesn't see an exodus of talented administrators leaving education because of its growing challenges. He said it's important school systems provide staff with professional development and the assistance needed to meet educational requirements. But in an era of deep budget cuts, districts face a severe test in meeting those needs.

"People choose education as a career because they love to work with students, care deeply about education and are committed to doing that job," Welker said. "We have a lot of dedicated people, and I certainly hope they continue to stay with us."

Merideth said he's loved every minute of his career in public education, including teaching stints in the Jackson School District and at Notre Dame Regional High School. He said he's grateful for all the opportunities to teach, a vocation he plans to return to in this next chapter of his life in education.

"As long as I'm teaching, I think I'm doing what God put me on this planet to do," Merideth said.

mkittle@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1900 Thilenius St., Cape Girardeau, MO