A Look Back: Superintendent Day
“I will never not be proud that I can call myself a Panther.”
Sweet Home Superintendent Mr. Day announced that he will be retiring at the end of this school year. The Panther Eye wanted to celebrate his career at Sweet Home, and as an educator in general. We asked Mr. Day to share some of his many memories and experiences in the community!
Mr. Day has spent almost 20 years as an administrator at Sweet Home. Before getting his first job in the district, Mr. Day worked as a social studies teacher and a football coach for the Niagara Wheatfield Central School District. “Our arch rival was Sweet Home. So when I got the job here as assistant principal in 1996, the football team wouldn’t talk to me because they thought I was a spy for Niagara Wheatfield.”
Mr. Day’s favorite memory he said was last June’s senior graduation. “Here was a situation where all the cards were stacked against us and we had to figure out a way to do something that we had done forever but in a different way. A whole bunch of people came together, the families responded, the students responded, the staff responded, and together it was an event like we never had before.” On top of that Day also said that he had many memorable moments, such as seeing a football team win the state championships, seeing our high school musicals be celebrated at the WNY Kenny Awards, and going to NHS inductions.
Looking into retirement Mr. Day said that he has no rock solid plans but he looks forward to doing some travel, finding different ways to help people, and possibly starting his own business with his wife.
As for the future of the district, Day said that he would love to see this pandemic get beat and get kids back in school. He reiterated his position that this pandemic has affected teens the most, especially when it comes to their mental health. Day also said that “having conversations about diversity, equity, and what impact racism may be having on the school experience, the Board has adopted that goal and I think that is a conversation that’s not just worthy of our community, but worthy of the country.”
“I really believe in this concept of the Sweet Home Way and that it’s not just something on the wall in the foyer. There’s a way that we do things at Sweet Home and it’s about relationships and trying to do things better than everybody might expect. I think we can be a model.”
We asked Mr. Day if he had any words of wisdom for his successor. He said that they should “listen carefully, give people a voice, try to provide opportunities for their voices to be heard, build a culture where everybody wants to get better and by working together that’s how we do it. Go slow to go fast, that’s something that I have learned. Really just enjoy this opportunity because it’s gonna be a great opportunity.”
Hunter is a junior at Sweet Home High School. This is his third year with The Panther Eye and he currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief. He will primarily focus on growing The Panther Eye as an organization as well as authoring occasional articles. If interested in joining The Panther Eye team contact Hunter using the options below!!