AHS Changes with Principal McKay

Atlantic High School has seen many changes since McKay became principal.

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IN CHARGE- Principal McKay speaks at the Veterans Day assembly. This is just one of the many things McKay has added since becoming principal of AHS.

AHS has gone through many principals and that means that there have been many changes in the school. Heather Mckay is the latest principal in AHS and has been for the past seven years. 

There are some things that changed in the students that McKay has noticed recently. “One change that has surprised me is the fact that some students do not have much of an interest in getting their driver’s license right away and will wait until they turn 18,” said McKay. There was also a decrease in students who participate in activities and sports all year. McKay said, “We used to have students who were multi-sport athletes.” Now there are a lot of students who only participate in one sport or activity.

History teacher Terry Hinzmann moved to the high school about 17 years ago  and has seen many phases of AHS. Hinzman said, “There’s a better attitude than there was before so she must be doing something right.”

McKay agrees that there is a better attitude with the students but also said, “Some students struggle with time management and seeing the importance of meeting deadlines. There has been a significant impact on students because of technological changes and usage of social media.”

Not only have students changed, so have the teachers. McKay said educators are now trying a wider variety of strategies than the usual “sit-and-get model.”

The school itself has also seen many changes since McKay started. One example is moving from seven periods a day to eight. The school has also added AP and clubs such as swimming, dance team, archery, AHS Fuel and Spanish Club. McKay has also added the Veterans Day assembly. Other additions have included 30-minute seminar and professional development on Wednesdays.

McKay said there have also been some “procedural changes.” There are now faculty and student handbooks for the school and code of conduct changes. 

McKay has added a lot of different technological items, including vending machines, informational TV displays and the addition of broadcasting class for Eye of the Needle. McKay has also cracked down on “students with cell phones.”

Pullquote Photo

(I am proud of) the people and community I work alongside.

— Heather McKay

There are many things McKay should be proud of. She said one of the things she is proud of is “the people and community I work alongside.”

With all the things that McKay has added, she is still planning on adding more to this school. “I would still like to add programming to various trades and career tech,” McKay said. She also said it would be amazing to start a community theater program to incorporate the relationship between the students and the community.