Students often don’t know the faculty members who work in the main office very well (unless they get into trouble). Even if you are familiar with the office, students don’t typically get to go into the back rooms of the area and see what the staff there gets up to, which is what The Roar got the opportunity to do, and interview one of the various staff members there to get a peek into what they do, specifically, one of our very own vice principals, Mr. Brian Conatser.
To begin the interview, The Roar asked Conatser to outline what his typical day working at Loveland High School looks like. His immediate answer was “the only way to describe a typical day, would be ‘atypical.’” Conatser explained that the job of a vice principal, mainly, is to simply problem solve various issues and matters around the school, which takes different forms every day. One day he may see himself doing disciplinary action, as many students believe to be the brunt of his job, but other days may consist of going to truancy court or conducting a teacher evaluation, which can last multiple hours on some occasions. Overall, Conatser believes any discipline-related duties he has should be less focused on punishment, and more so on helping the student get back on the right path. Adding to his list of duties, Conatser also explained his role as the Special Instruction Administrator, where he represents the school on matters regarding programs such as IEPs, his numerous administrative meetings, his parental conferences, and the ever-present responsibility of lunch duty.
The Roar continued the interview by asking Conatser what his favorite part of his job was, and his answer was quite simple. Conatser stated that, “I just enjoy supporting people.” Whether it be students or other staff members, simply helping and supporting them with their own jobs and tasks gives him fulfillment. Conatser also stated that seeing students succeed in skills and areas he could never imagine being able to as an offshoot of this, citing a recent Esports team match and the Show Choir as examples of what he considers to be his favorite memories of working as a vice principal.
Moving forward to a very interesting point, The Roar asked Conatser what he believes students would find surprising about his job, where he specifically cited his role as the “safety person.” Conatser recalled his experiences of corresponding with the local fire department for various drill schedulings, and in particular having to postpone one due to extremely cold weather so that students would not have to freeze outside for ten minutes.
Overall, Loveland High School has a varied and colorful staff to call its own, and Conatser is simply one interesting part of a cohesive whole. Be sure to say “hi” and thank Conatser next time you see him in the hallway or when he checks in on your classroom!