Getting to know students and treating them with respect while making education fun is Angela Sloan’s goal this upcoming year at the Clinton County Middle School.

Sloan was recently hired as Principal at Clinton County Middle School after Teresa Scott retired at the end of last year.

Sloan previously was hired as an assistant principal at the high school and she feels that position helped her prepare for her new role at the middle school.

“I always remember what I thought about the administration and there were things I swore I would do or never do and I try to remember that and that I follow suit. All those complaints I had before as a teacher, I’ve tried to remember that,” Sloan said. “Without that, I wouldn’t have been as prepared for this role as principal. While your job is different than the principal, you watch that principal and you get an idea of the different types of things they have to do. It’s more, but it gives you an idea of that role. I think that at each stage, from teacher, to assistant principal to principal, you are learning different things. Now you see things from a teacher’s perspective and I can see it from a parent’s perspective and the problems they have too.”

Before Sloan worked in the Clinton County School District, she spent 17 years in Wayne County’s school system as a teacher, including two years at Otter Creek, a girls camp similar to Foothills Academy in Clinton County. Sloan also taught a duo-credit course at the high school before last year.

Moving from the high school to the middle school has been an easy transition for Sloan.

“It’s been good,” Sloan said. “Teresa Scott has everything lined out and prepared for me. That made a big difference. She has made it an easy transition.”

The official start for students this year is August 7, which is less than a month away, but Sloan said she is excited to get the new year started.

“I’m excited, but I’m also nervous,” Sloan said. “I’m not really worried because the staff is really good. They are eager, energetic, they are very helpful. I’ve met with all the staff and can’t say enough about how much they care for the kids. I think their biggest concern was are they going to have someone who cares as much as we do. Hopefully I can fulfill that role and meet their expectations.”

Moving from high school age to middle school age students is going to be a big change for Sloan, but she said she is up for the challenge.

“There is the same basic structure. Everybody wants to come in and everyone wants to do a good job … everyone knows what their purpose is,” Sloan said. “It is going to be a little bit different than the high school, but it’s all about helping kids get ready to transition to the high school whereas before we were helping them prepare for college or their career outside of high school. With the middle school, you are still thinking about those things, but we are also thinking about high school and have we given them the tools necessary and have we prepared them for what they need. It’s all about preparing kids at different levels, but the goal is still the same.”

Sloan said she is ready for school to start this year and is eager to get started in her new position.

“I’m like Spongebob, I’m always ready,” Sloan said. “That’s when the excitement starts and that’s what I like. There are a million things you have to do to get ready, but until the kids get here, that’s when it really begins and that’s the fun part of it.”

To Sloan, students are interesting and she said she has always had an enjoyable time being around them.

“I like getting to know them,” Sloan said. “I think you have to be personable. I think they have to know they can come to you and the hard part is you have to balance that with the times when I mean what I say and they have to know that part too,” she said. “They have to know the line and I think you have to establish that pretty quickly and I think I can. It’s just like with your own kids. Sometimes you have to lower the boom on them, but they also have to know that you love them and want the best for them.”

Getting to know the students can be a difficult task, but Sloan is confident she will be able to make their environment an enjoyable place to learn.

“Sometimes you don’t get the chance to know the kids, but sometimes it’s that consistent effort and the teachers here make that easier,” she said. “From what I’ve gathered from them, they really try to get to know their students and they are very good about sharing information about what they need to know and I think that helps when you have a group of caring individuals trying to work together to make sure you don’t overlook some of these kids.”

Sloan also believes her time at Otter Creek prepared her for her new role as principal because she has seen the different types of situations that will allow her to do her job better.

“I certainly saw different sides,” Sloan said. “I’ve seen what they are going through. When you see something kind of dramatic when you are young it does kind of change you. You kind of have to know how to deal with those types of students. That doesn’t mean you have to turn a blind eye to it. It means you have to deal with it and show them how to handle things appropriately.”

With school starting in less than a month, and the hiring of a new assistant principal as well at the middle school with Josh Moons taking the role, Sloan said there are a few positions that need to be filled and will hopefully be filled this week and everything will be right on schedule for the new year.

“I think he will be a big help to me,” Sloan said. “The everyday stuff, where he has been here and been the curriculum specialist he has a knowledge of how things work. Here is my motto; ‘The sun is still going to rise in the morning and if it don’t then we have other things to worry about.’ ”

As of July 1, 2017, Angela Sloan was hired as the new principal at the Clinton County Middle School. She said she is excited about the new year and her new role within the Clinton County School District. The first official day for students is August 7.