Interview With Superintendent Faulkner

Interview With Superintendent Faulkner

October 27th, 2016 by Liz Hall

8th period, Thursday the 20th, I made my way to the District Office. Last minute I had decided to recruit Seth as an assurance the voice memo on my phone was recording, and secretly because I was incredibly nervous. This was my first interview, and I had chosen one of the most talked about people in the school district; Superintendent Faulkner. However, as we walked into his office, I realized I had nothing to fear. Seth and I were greeted with a huge smile and a welcoming, "Hello".

Me: What is your favorite aspect of Sandy Creek so far?
Faulkner: The atmosphere and the culture. How well everybody seems to get along, and it seems to be all about the kids, which I love.

Me: What is the most challenging part of your job?
Faulkner: So far, it's been getting to know everyone, who does what, and what the typical procedures are on a daily basis.

Me: Last year there was quite a bit of talk about changing the phone policy, but nothing has happened this year so far. Do you foresee any changes in the future?
Faulkner: At this point, it looks like things will probably remain as they are. Obviously things can always change, but with having talked to all of the administrators and teachers, we believe that the negatives outweigh the positives with what cell phone usage can do for our school, our culture, and our kids.

Me: What are your thoughts about snow days?
Faulkner: We're not going to have any ever! (jokingly of course) I grew up in APW so I know all about the snow belt and Central New York. We'll do what we've always done. If it's bad and people are at risk, then we will close school for the day.

Me: I ask because Mr. Amell had quite of a reputation for closing school while Pulaski remained open.
Faulkner: Pulaski is a LOT smaller. This district is 204 square miles, it could be sunny here, and snowing heavily in Redfield.

Me: What's your favorite food?
Faulkner: Probably prime rib. I don't eat it a lot, but I do really enjoy a good prime rib.

Me: What's your dream vacation?
Faulkner: Well, my wife and I went to Jamaica for our honeymoon-
*both Seth and I say "ooh"*
that was a lot of fun, we had a blast down there. But honestly, it would probably be a couple months-long tour of the United States. I'm a history guy, and there's a lot of places I haven't been that I'd like to see before I pack it all in.

Me: What were you like in high school?
Faulkner: I played football, basketball, and baseball. I was quarterback at APW, had a lot of friends, I still keep in touch with some of them. I was class president my senior year and I didn't get into a lot of trouble. I was a decent student, not a great student by any means. I had three brothers, we all played three sports, it was a great time.

Me: Was there a special reason you chose Sandy Creek?
Faulkner: I wanted to be back in the area, close to home. Both my wife and I's family live in the area, we're both from APW originally. Plus Sandy Creek has a fantastic reputation academically and athletically. Wonderful graduation rate, wonderful attendance rate. Sandy Creek is a school that's regarded very highly in the area. And it's a small school, it's what I'm used to, it's where I've always been.

Me: Any changes you'd like to see here at Sandy Creek?
Faulkner: Right now I'm just kind of watching, and doing an awful lot of listening. I'm finding out how things go around here. Down the road, we might work together and hopefully improve, but there's no glaring issues here that need to be fixed immediately. We have tons of good people working here and great kids from what I've seen. It's awesome.

Me: Do you have a life mantra you'd like to share?
*Author's note: I look around the room and notice that in his new office -mostly bare due to him just arriving here- a neon orange piece of paper with a quote on it. It is one of the most prominent things in the room.*
Faulkner: I have many of them, but honestly, right there *motions toward the neon orange sheet of paper* is the one I try to live by the most.
"After all this is over, all that will matter is how we treated each other."
And it's just the idea that,"You know what? When all is said and done, the bottom line is you should just be a good person, treat people well, and do things for others."
I'm a big believer in that.

Me: Any advice for this year's seniors?
Faulkner: Work hard, be respectful, but also have some fun. That's what it's all about, if you're not having some fun in life you're doing something wrong.

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