York looks forward to colorful first year
as CAHS principal
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
KAY YORK is settling in quite nicely as the new principal at Central Aroostook Junior-Senior High School in Mars Hill. With nearly 20 years of cumulative experience in the district, this is York’s first venture into secondary education. More recently she worked as a half-time reading recovery teacher, and half-time administration where she assisted the elementary principal, and also served as a mentor for the teachers. Among York’s goals for the year include fostering trust and respect with staff and students, learning the culture of the school, supporting existing initiatives, and recognizing students for positive behavior.
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
MARS HILL — While her office may appear a bit drab at the moment, Kay York is expecting her time as the new Central Aroostook Junior-Senior High School principal to be very vibrant.
“When time allows, I’ve actually been looking at color swatches,” she said. “Hopefully during harvest break I’ll get my office painted. I’m thinking about reds or yellows or browns.”
York replaces Kevin Grass, who resigned in June to pursue other interests. She began her new job Aug. 5, one week before school started.
“I had looked in the past for administrative positions, but nothing clicked. Then the superintendent called me toward the end of the summer and asked if I would be willing to apply,” she said. “I care a lot about our community, and I didn’t want to see the school falter because there wasn’t leadership there, so I agreed to interview for the position and was later hired.
“It was a little challenging to be hired one week before school began,” said York. “I’ve been putting in long days, and trying to do the best that I can, but things have been going well. Hopefully during harvest I’ll have time to get a little more organized.”
Having grown up outside of Washington, D.C., York moved to Pennsylvania while in junior high. She later received her bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from Cedarville University in Ohio, where she met her future husband of 30 years, Brent York, a Mars Hill native.
“Once we graduated college, we lived in Portugal for two years and taught at an international school,” said York. “It was an American-speaking school and I taught multiple subjects in grades 1-2, while Brent taught junior high. That was a wonderful experience; it gave us a chance to both travel and teach.”
York later taught in Maryland, and at the Los Angeles Unified School District.
“We moved to California so Brent could attend Pepperdine University Law School. I taught grade 1 for two years. Los Angeles is a very different place to live,” she said. “I was driving to work one day on the freeway and my car was starting to roll. I thought I was having a flat tire, and the man on the radio said, ‘We just had an earthquake.’ I kept driving to school and when I got there, it was chaos. The school was located in a barrio and had high gates that were closed so we would know where the kids were. As parents arrived, they were looking for their children through the gates and it was pretty crazy.”
The Yorks moved back east in 1989 when Brent got a job in Presque Isle. She has been working — off and on — for SAD 42 since 1990. York started part-time as a Title I teacher and later taught first grade and served as the character education coordinator. In 2001, she received her master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern Maine.
“I had leadership roles in different areas in the district, but since I have four children, I didn’t really make a move to administration at that time,” she said. “Family is a big priority with me.”
York took an unpaid sabbatical in 2010 to work on her doctorate. Since that time, she has worked as a half-time reading recovery teacher, and half-time administration.
“I assisted the elementary principal when she was out of the building,” said York, “and I also was a mentor for the teachers.”
As the new junior-senior high school principal, York said there are several goals she wants to attain this year.
“I want to establish trust with staff and students because I think trust is foundational to any kind of success, in any job,” she said. “I want to take time to understand the culture of this school; I’m not out to radically change things just because that’s what I like, I want it to be thoughtful and relevant to the school.
“I want to continue with and support initiatives that are already in place that staff has worked through. They have some really good initiatives with discipline, academic eligibility and the grading policy that I want to continue to support, and I want to foster respect. Respect needs to be paramount in everything that we do,” said York. “Another goal is to relate to the students and staff that we will have high expectations for students … academics are important and they’ll be expected to do well. My other focus is to acknowledge the positive behavior in kids and praise them for it. When I see something they’ve done, I call the parents to let them know. It’s important that the students — and parents — receive both positive and negative feedback, when necessary.”
With nearly 20 years of cumulative experience in the district, this is York’s first venture into secondary education.
“It’s been going very well. I can’t complain,” she said. “I’ve known a lot of these students since they were in elementary school, so that has helped. Plus the staff is awesome and has been very welcoming. It’s obviously busy, but any new job is going to be. I’m enjoying it.”
When she’s not busy working on her doctorate, York enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family, which includes children Andrew, Cameron, Brendan and Breanne.
