After over a decade of working at Algonquin, physical education teacher Andrew McGowan decided to broaden his influence on the school community and assumed the role of assistant principal.

“I saw this as a nice opportunity to impact the school in a different setting and in a different way,” McGowan said.

Now an administrator, McGowan oversees grades 10 and 11.

“The whole thing is kind of a learning process, nothing unexpected though,” McGowan said. “I did my homework going into it.”

McGowan hopes to utilize his new position to bring about improvements to the school that he previously didn’t have the chance to make.

“One of the wonderful things about education is it’s constantly changing and it’s constantly growing,” McGowan said. “If we were doing the same things they did ten years ago, that wouldn’t be good. But we are constantly moving forward.”  

Some of these changes are already becoming visible and beginning to affect the school.

“There’s a few new rules, In-School Suspension is something new, the tardy policy is something that’s a little tighter,” McGowan said. “But most of the rules that people see as being new are rules that have actually been in the handbook for years and it’s just a matter of holding students accountable.”

Although he is excited for the potential in his new role, McGowan admits that he is sad to leave teaching behind.

“What I will miss of the old position is the daily interactions with the same group of students that you’d see,” McGowan said.

Former colleague and fellow physical education teacher Patrick Russell sees the value that McGowan’s teaching background can bring to his new job.

“He’s very connected to the other teachers in the building and he knows what it’s like to be in the trenches,” Russell said. “He can really relate to the teachers because he was one. And that knowledge, I think, that will help.”