After two years as principal at Dunstable School, Steven Kaplan is moving on to bigger things as he prepares to take over as the new principal of Westlock Elementary School next year.
Leaving Dunstable so soon was something he never planned to do, but when the opportunity presented itself, he decided to heed the words of loved ones and threw his hat in the ring.
“There are certain people in your life that ask the right questions at the right times,” he said. “It could be described as a nudge, and it was ‘would you consider it?’ and I considered it.”
He applied, and when Pembina Hill school division staff had made their decision, he was the successful candidate and accepted the offer.
“I accepted the offer because you never know if it will ever come up again,” Kaplan said.
One thing Kaplan stresses is that he is not leaving Dunstable on bad terms.
“It wasn’t because I was unhappy in any way here at Dunstable,” he said. “Dunstable has provided me with wonderful opportunities.
In fact, in some ways, he viewed WES almost as the backup plan.
“Had I not been the successful candidate, I wouldn’t have been disappointed,” he said. “I’d have been fine. We’ve got lots of work we could do here at Dunstable. It’s a great community with great kids.”
Moving to WES presents a number of challenges that simply don’t exist in any meaningful way at Dunstable, starting with the difference in school size. Dunstable’s student population is less than 70. WES houses nearly 600.
It’s that drastic shift in student population that Kaplan said will make it harder to keep in touch with all the students and their parents, and to establish a rapport with all the families.
Another challenge will be following in the footsteps of outgoing principal Terry Anderson, who has had a finger on the pulse of WES for 10 years.
Yet, Kaplan said he knows Anderson will set things up so that the changeover is as seamless as possible.
“I know he’s very passionate about that school and he’ll make sure that whoever the new principal was, he or she would have all kinds of supports put in place to make sure the transition was very smooth,” he said.
Still, Kaplan said he can’t help be intimidated, just a little bit, about coming into a well-run school with such a strong staff already in place.
“They’re a great team, and they’ve built a very strong school there,” he said. “They’re a strong team and the kids love them and it’s a little intimidating to think that you’re going to be walking in behind that kind of a person and that kind of administrative team.”
On the other hand, having such a strong staff in place already figures to make the move go very well, he added.
Of course, despite how well the move to WES may be, Kaplan is well aware of what he is leaving behind at Dunstable.
“I certainly appreciated the small school family culture that was here,” he said. “It was very friendly, very open and very family oriented. You can see that in the way the kids treated you and the way the parents, when they came in, how they were with their children and how they were with the staff.”
Over the years, Kaplan said he’s told his students that they should always take opportunities that are offered to them if it will lead to self-improvement. He said it would have been hypocritical of him not to follow his own advice when this opportunity arose.
And as with any life change, Kaplan is moving on with mixed feelings.
“It is an opportunity,” he said. “It’s an adventure in many ways and that’s a good thing. But of course, when you have connections or when you’re leaving a community, most people had reasons they lived in that community and these reasons you’ll be leaving behind.”
