IVEE HARBERSON, left, and Makenzie Clark are pictured with the stickers with an image of their principal on them. They sold the stickers at their recent Entrepreneur Fair. (Photo by Bob Vlach)

MIRIAM BUCHANAN, left, and Alexandra Rice were busy doing worksheets recently in their second grade class at Huntertown Elementary School. (Photo by Bob Vlach)

KAMDEN STOUT is pictured in art class at Huntertown Elementary School. (Photo by Bob Vlach)

OREN CLARK, left and Mac Bowles worked on their art projects during a recent “Design, Create and Build Day” at Huntertown Elementary School. (Photo by Bob Vlach)

By Bob Vlach

Woodford Sun Staff

After being hired as principal at Huntertown Elementary School last year, Ryan Wilson listened. He knew from his years playing and then coaching basketball that the most successful teams are driven by players – or in schools by teachers and staffers.

“I’m very aware of my strengths and weaknesses, and I try to put people into positions where they can be successful. And I don’t try to dabble and overstep boundaries that I know I’m not the best at,” says Wilson.

He shared his philosophy about leadership and why he leans on the strengths of teachers and others during the Sun’s recent visit to Huntertown.

“We always say we’ve got a Green Light Culture,” explains Wilson. “And so I’m always encouraging teachers to think outside the box: think big, dream big.”

Because if teachers are good people who care about and love kids, he knows his faculty and staff will work hard together to ensure success happens at Huntertown.

Earlier that morning, the voices of fifth graders were filled with enthusiasm when they talked about projects that they’ve been working on for their upcoming Entrepreneur Fair.

The commercials produced by students to advertise their merchandise are amazing, fifth grade teacher Rebekah Gooslin tells the Sun.

This project-based learning was an opportunity for students to learn about economics. “What kids would actually buy. What parents would actually buy,” says Emma Stakelin, 10.

In her group, Emma and her peers chose to market “Mystery Squishes” after agreeing kids like them would buy squishes, she adds.

Asked if project-based learning is fun, 11-year-old Lydia Osbourne says, “Yes, but it’s also difficult at the same time because you have to … organize all your thoughts. But it’s also fun because you get to be creative with your ideas.”

Ivee Harberson and Makenzie Clark chose to do stickers with an image of their principal – wearing a wolf mask – on them. They knew the stickers would sell because Mr. Wilson is “super-cool” and “does fun things.”

For students, that fun starts with Wilson’s morning music to begin the school day, fifth grade teacher Evelyn Walton tells the Sun. She also appreciates working for a principal who is visible and available to students – because he uses a desk on wheels.

“And he’s funny like 50 percent of the time – but never as funny as me,” she adds jokingly.

Walton came to Huntertown after doing her student teaching at Simmons Elementary when Wilson was an administrative dean there. The 2020 Woodford County High School graduate was his first hire as principal at Huntertown, where her mom went to school.

Coming to Huntertown was also an opportunity for Walton to work with Gooslin, who is known across the district as “a rock star” in the classroom, she says.

Since returning to Huntertown in January after adopting a baby girl, teacher Caroline Hardin appreciates working in a school where she can bring her 5-month-old daughter to Wednesday night meetings. She also appreciates knowing a retired Huntertown teacher is taking care of her daughter when she’s with her second grade students.

“Teaching in a smaller district is just different,” says special education teacher Sarah Houston, who grew up in Woodford County. During her six years at Huntertown, she appreciates working with educators who are willing to do what it takes to meet the needs of students. “I also think that we have a really great group of kids who are very eager to learn,” she adds.

Houston credits everyone on Huntertown’s staff for having a willingness to praise and show kindness to students – “and these children thrive on that.” Their culture, she says, starts with Administrative Dean Amanda Nugent, counselor Neal Fannin and Wilson.

“I’m a big kid at heart,” says Wilson, “so (having a good time with students) keeps it fun for me.” He knows school is not always a great place for everybody, so anything he can do – large or small – to brighten the day of a child is “worth it.”

He also knows “culture’s contagious” and what he does as a leader at Huntertown trickles down to the classroom, where “we’re blessed with already great kids.”

Wilson lauds Fannin for having positive relationships with students. “He truly cares about the child and their well-being,” says Wilson. “He cares about the families … and he’s willing to have the good conservations and he’s willing to have those difficult conversations.”

“I strive … to create a safe place for the kids,” says Fannin. So whether a student is new to Huntertown or has been here for several years, he knows that creating a safe place in the classroom is conducive to learning. Moreover, he says, “I want to make sure that the parents are included in anything that we do at school.”

“My job,” he tells the Sun, “is all about relationships – relationships with parents, relationships with teachers and relationships with students.”

In an effort to ensure art never gets boring for her students, Sherry Young has them doing graffiti art, along with other creative projects. “I love when they come to my door and go, ‘What are we doing this week, Ms. Young?’”

And no matter what they are doing in art class, she says, “We’re learning to collaborate, work together,” and how to solve problems.

When the Sun stopped by her classroom, it was “Design, Create and Build Day” when students – once every four weeks – get to design, create and build anything they want.

In response to an observation by the Sun that kids expect a lot out of teachers, Gooslin, who recently earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership, says, “We expect a lot