| SHS principal Lokey submits resignation |
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Posted: Friday, February 5, 2010 2:37 pm
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Gaye Lokey announced her resignation as Silsbee High School principal at the Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 school board meeting. She has been principal since 2008.
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By DANNY RENEAU
publisher@silsbeebee.com
Silsbee High School Principal Gaye Lokey announced to the Silsbee school board this past week that she would not be returning to her position next year.
“This has been the best time in my career as far as being with kids.” Gaye Lokey stated as she thought back over the past two school years.
She continued on “from athletics to academics, we have been successful. I don’t think people realize what we have here.”
She explained that the high school has a balanced program, from winning on the athletic fields to winning in the drama department.
Lokey announced her resignation last week at the Silsbee ISD Board of Trustees meeting and then called all the teachers in for a faculty meeting on Friday to confirm the decision.
The move surprised many and left most questioning the reason Lokey decided to resign.
Lokey, who worked in the Silsbee school system for many years and then went to Mauriceville where she was the principal of the middle school and later the director of secondary instruction fro two middle schools and the high school, stated that the decision to leave her job was really a personal one. She would rather be called “Nana” than “ma’am.”
Her daughter, Kim, recently moved from the suburbs of Washington, D.C., to Cedar Park, which is near Austin. Lokey stated that she realized that she had been eight months without seeing her youngest grandson.
Kim does computer science work and data base support at home and Lokey decided to take a break from the demands of being a high school principal so that she could be involved in the lives of her children and grandchildren.
Lokey built her career with a reputation of being strong in academics. This was true both in Silsbee and later in Mauriceville.
Prior to coming back to Silsbee, she reached the conclusion that she missed being with kids. So when the opportunity arose, she moved from the administration building to the campus where she was part of the everyday activities of the youth.
As she finishes her second year on the campus she recalls the highlights as beating West Orange-Stark this past football season and shaking hands with the seniors as they graduate.
In the long term, her tenure at Silsbee High School may be remembered for something that is far more academic. It is a little-known program that started while she was principal that can have lasting results.
When she arrived, the school had a completion rate that was under 90 percent. Lokey said she felt that was unacceptable.
The school started a program to keep at-risk kids in school and on to graduation at an accelerated rate. This is particularly important to youth who start high school as overaged freshmen. The program also attempts to get students who have dropped out to come back and complete their education at an accelerated process.
To date, six students have completed the course and have earned their degrees.
She says in most instances, these students do not have a desire to participate in graduation exercises. They simply want to get their degrees and move on.
The program started at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. She says the school’s desire was to not say anything about the program until it was getting results. She indicated she was very proud of the program and was pleased that six students have already completed the graduation process.
With this program in place, “We will see a real benefit and our completion rate will improve,” says Lokey.
The school has earned an acceptable rating on its TAKS tests each of the past two years and the enrollment at the school has stayed stable in the 840 to 850 range while other schools have seen drops in enrollment.
Being a high school principal is a demanding job. Lokey in some ways has made the job more difficult for herself because, as she says, “I want to be there for the kids.”
She is regularly seen at band concerts, cheerleading events, sporting events and activities of all types. During the upcoming weeks there will be eight sports in action around the campus.
One of the tough challenges of the position is finding a balance of being a manager, managing budgets, staffs, facilities and being the instructional leader of the campus.
Lokey says, “I have enjoyed coming back home. This has always been home and I have enjoyed the opportunity.”
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