Alton Middle School Admin Works Hard to Give Students Great Education
Relationships are central to the work of Alton Middle School administrators. Meet the team helping students find encouragement, opportunities and connections during a unique stage of their education.
ALTON - The Alton Middle School administrative team works hard to help their students be successful.
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As the Alton Community Unit School District #11 celebrates National Principals Month this October, the Alton Middle School group is as eager as ever to collaborate and support their kids. Principal Dr. Brian Saenz is joined by Alex Pulido, Casey Hansen, Jalen Williams, Amy Kaiser, Amanda Beiser and Claire Gorman, and the team works hard to engage with students and grow together.
“It’s the community, the teachers you work with, the people you work with, day to day, the parents,” Saenz said. “The irony now is a lot of the parents that I have were kids I had in school. That’s an interesting new perspective to have. But we’re just enjoying the people that are involved in the community. Our community’s got so many great people that are involved, that are helping promote the schools and make the schools a positive place.”
The administrators regularly lean on each other for support. They noted that it’s a great asset to have so many strong educators on their team. They can bounce ideas off each other, face challenges together, and focus on giving kids the best education.
“It’s really nice that we have a whole admin team versus being an individual,” Beiser said. “I think that’s one of the major upsides of working at the middle school. You never feel like you’re alone. You always have somebody to talk to or to collaborate with, especially with some of the harder decisions or harder situations that we have to go through.”
The administrators expressed their appreciation for the school’s teachers, adding that “you’re either a middle school teacher or you aren’t a middle school teacher.” Hansen believes everyone at AMS was “made for middle school.”
It’s a unique age, with different trends and influences always impacting the students. Saenz noted that the team “just learns to roll with it,” adding that “the kids are great” and he loves working with them. All of the teachers and administrators enjoy engaging with these students and forming close relationships with them.
“I feel like, here at the middle school, we can have those types of relationships with students where we can laugh with them and not get side-eyed,” Kaiser said. “They joke around with us, or if they need a hug, they need a hug, and it’s not weird.”
Those relationships mean a lot to the students, but also to the adults in the building, who care about making sure the kids have the support they need. They work hard to give students opportunities and encouragement.
All of the administrators agreed that the Alton School District is a great place to be, with diversity and experiences that students are lucky to have. They make a point to get to know the students as people. They’re all proud to be a part of the Alton Middle School community.
“I think just the atmosphere that we have here prepares our students to be productive members out wherever they go,” Hansen added. “Just the structure of the middle school, we’re all really tight-knit. It’s a very relationship-based place here, from the APs to the teachers on the floor they work with to the group of students that they have. We’re on a first-name basis with those kids. Everyone’s greeted with a name in the morning. That’s something we pride ourselves on here at the middle school.”
This featured article is sponsored by the Alton Community Unit School District #11. To get your business or organization featured onwww.RiverBender.com, contact us at sales@riverbender.com.
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