There is so much in this world to do and explore.
St. Joseph Middle School Principal Chris Graham has lived that.
Perhaps Graham began down the path to education later than others typically do, but there were a few other things to do first.
After he married his wife, Ann, Graham joined the Army, and spent four years in the 7th Infantry Division and another three years as an Electronic Switching Systems Technician in the Signal Corp.
Meanwhile, Ann pursued her degree through five moves as Graham served.
“I really enjoyed my time working with electronics and decided to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering at the U of I,” he said. “This was in 1988 and in 1992.
“During my senior year, I made the decision to switch majors and become a science teacher. I had always been intrigued by science and the coursework taken for engineering reinforced that and after doing some tutoring in math and science my mind was made up.
“When I am asked this question I am reminded of how much my wife loves me…
“Thirty-nine years later, Ann is still putting up with me after I threw her that curveball.”
Getting into the classroom at Jefferson and Franklin Middle Schools, then at Centennial High School as a student-teacher and working in the Upward Bound Program on the U of I campus and in the College for Kids program at Parkland College sealed the decision.
He joined the St. Joseph team in 1994, and hasn’t looked back since.
Well, one thing he is sure of is that his second year teaching Math, Science and Language Arts may have had one shortcoming.
“I’ll be honest with you, I was not very good at teaching Language Arts. I think the students that year would tell you that as well,” he said.
The following year, though, and for the next six years, he was able to focus on Math and Science.
“My goal as a science teacher was to have the students experience their education and not just sit through it,” he said. “I didn’t want the students to see science as the next class on their schedule but as something that occurs all around them in their everyday life.
“Students are naturally curious and science lends itself to grabbing that curiosity and extending it. Teachers always say that they love the look on the face of a student when they have that ‘aha’ moment.
“I really enjoyed those as well but I enjoyed just as much the quizzical look of a student who just observed something and didn’t know what to think and then the eagerness they displayed in an effort to find out why they didn’t know what to think.
“What I wanted students to take away from my classroom was the ability to see and define a problem and then to work through ways to solve it no matter what setting that problem occurred in.”
He took the same mindset into leading the K-8 school as Principal and Athletic Director in 2000. At that time, the Elementary and Middle School were housed in the same building. In 2005, Graham moved to the Middle School.
“Besides a great education my hope is that short-term the students are prepared for the next step in their education,” he said. “Long-term my hope is that we have established habits for productive and engaged future citizens.
“When I look at our student body I ask myself, are we preparing these students to be able to function in this ever changing world? That takes me back to what I wanted my students to get out of my science classes but on a larger scale. See and define a problem and then find a way to solve that problem no matter the setting. Set goals and expectations for yourself and then define the steps you are going to take to reach them.”
Graham said that is easy in a community like St. Joseph where residents are engaged in their child’s education.
“St. Joseph Middle School is special because of the people,” he said. “When I say people I mean everyone. Our teachers are the best around and truly care about the students they work with. The parents in the community make their child’s education a priority and show us everyday that they value what we do here and take a collaborative role in it.
“The children in the community enter our building and give it life and are ready to learn. While a school administrators job is challenging, it is those things that have made it enjoyable for me.”
Although there have been times when hard decisions have been made, Graham has worked to create a collaborative environment among the staff.
“I have always believed it is important for those who will be implementing my ideas or shared ideas to have input and share a vested interest in successful implementation,” he said.
That approach never meant more than throughout the last 12 months of COVID-19 mitigations and state-level changes that could come in the moments of notice.
“The pandemic has turned everyone’s world upside down. I often joke that my last year as principal has felt my first year as a principal,” he said.
“The things we felt were most important were to keep the student’s and staff’s health and safety foremost and then to create as much normalcy and consistency as possible under the circumstances for everyone involved. We felt it was important for our students to see their teachers everyday. We knew we would not please everyone with some of the decisions that were made. While it has certainly been more difficult for some than others the students have been outstanding in the way they have dealt with what has been thrown at them. The teachers have adapted the way in which they have had to teach basically overnight and the parents have taken on the unexpected role of providing much more academic support for their children than normal.
“None of this has gone unnoticed and this is yet another reason why St. Joseph Middle School is a special place to work.”
As Graham approaches the last month of a 27 year career, he hopes to do a little something different in retirement.
“I tell myself that I am not making any plans for the first year of retirement,” he said. “I plan on finding out what it is like to be home in the evenings five nights a week which is something I’ve not experienced in 25 years. I plan on enjoying not knowing what day of the week it is. Coffee on the screened porch in the morning as we watch the hustle and bustle going on around us.
“Ann and I plan to do some traveling. We currently have two grandsons and a granddaughter on the way. We will be back at the ball diamonds and in the gyms but it will be purely as spectators this time around. After the first year we will see if Ann can still tolerate me being around so much and we will see what year two brings.”
