By Dick Maloney Brandon Howard admits that he was running from his eventual career path. That changed during his sophomore year at Bowling Green State University.
The 2010 Walnut Hills High School graduate was majoring in business finance and minoring in marketing, while also playing baseball, at BGSU when he decided to change course – a course that brings him to Clermont Northeastern Middle School as the new assistant principal under Scott Houp.
“Sophomore year of college I changed my major to education. I think I was running from it for a while, but when I knew that’s what I was set to do, and then stayed in it from there,” Howard said. “Social studies is a passion of mine. I like history, like knowing what was to determine what will be.”
Howard spent the last nine years in the North College Hill City School District, first as an instructional aide in an autism unit, then as a seventh-grade social studies teacher before moving into administration, as middle principal at the high school, and later the middle school. He was also assistant athletic director and head baseball coach for five years, and full-time athletic director for two years.
At North College Hill, Howard worked with and for current Clermont Northeastern Superintendent Tim Sies.
Clermont Northeastern and North College Hill are 36 miles apart, and would seem to have little in common – one a suburban/urban district and the other a rural district. North College Hill is roughly two square miles in size, while Clermont Northeastern is 78, so Howard is getting used to the extensive bus routes and rural nature of Clermont Northeastern. Howard focuses on the similarities, including total enrollment – each has around 1,600 students.
“But what attracted me is … it’s still a similar clientele, 50 percent disadvantaged students here, free and reduced lunch. We were 100 percent in North College Hill,” Howard said. “Obviously (Superintendent) Sies attracted me to the job. I trust his vision. I trust he does what’s best for kids. And I kind of needed that rejuvenation back.”
His role at Clermont Northeastern is “to help communicate and push forward the vision of the building lead,” Howard said. “Scott has shared with me his vision, and he shared with me his experience last year and what he hopes to do this year. So my job is to support him in that aspect and to support the teachers and students as much as I can.
“I look at myself as a servant leader, so I’ll be out, I’ll be visible. I’ll be, you know, reliable, reachable for people.”
Aug. 1 was Howard’s first official day on the job, after being hired July 10. He is still learning about the district and its various communities.
“It is a warm and welcoming community from what I’ve seen so far,” he said. “I’ve stopped at local restaurants, gas stations, met some people in the buildings already. It seems like a very tight knit community.”
Assistant principals often take a lead role in discipline, and Howard said that suits his skill set and personality.
“At both of my assistant principal roles I took a heavy portion of discipline,” Howard said. “It’s not something I shy away from and aligns with my role as a PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) lead, and it ties hand-in-hand with discipline. It’s the preventative aspect of it so I think that will go very good with my role.”
Creating relationships – life-altering relationships – motivates Howard, and is one reason he chose education. It’s also why he can see himself at Clermont Northeastern for many years.
“I believe in impact. This work in education has to be a vocation, has to be a calling for you. You don’t really see those moments until years after. You have difficult students you’ve worked with and then you think, ‘Oh, I didn’t move the needle with this kid.’ But then years later, you get a call or a text or a letter, and it makes it all worthwhile. I know this is what I should be doing.”
Howard, 32, lives in Downtown Cincinnati. An avid baseball fan, he plays in an adult league and also loves to travel. He hopes to visit Japan next summer.
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