As we all know, Andrea Markert is the principal here at U-High, but many students may not know all of the responsibilities she has. We all see Markert greet everyone in the hallways, at assemblies, and at extracurriculars, but what we don’t see is what happens behind the scenes.
Markert starts her school days by arriving at the school around 7:30 am. Following that she checks in with other staff members in the office and Vice Principal Micheal Shanley. Then she goes to greet students in the hallway as they go to their 8 am classes.
But that is just the visible work. Her day actually began much earlier.
“I usually check my email right when I wake up, around 6:15 am and I usually get about 40-50 emails overnight,” Markert said. She also checks her email before she goes to bed. During this interview, which lasted 15 minutes, she received 15 new emails, creating a pretty constant flow of tasks to tend to.
While she plans every day the night before, her plans are likely to change. Markert said her days are shaped by student and faculty needs.
Steve Evans Director of Athletics and Activities and former Vice Principal here at U-High said the responsibilities of the principal and vice principal can sometimes be intense..
“We [Evans and Markert] try and touch base at least once a day, but other than that I kind of leave her alone because her daily job is intense at times,” Evans said. “It’s tough with lots of meetings to go to. You’re involved with everything; you’re communicating with everybody, and you’re trying to organize the school, parents, and every other stakeholder.”
Stacey Welter, accountant and HR representative at U-High is friends with Markert inside and outside the office. Since working together for years in roles that collaborate often, Welter and Markert found many similarities in their jobs and home lives that led to them being very good friends. Welter said they even go to Chipotle together around three times per week to work and talk about their kids.
“I am her [Markert’s] sidekick,” Welter said. “I work with her a lot because we plan the budgets and do all the money together.”
Chemistry teacher and leadership team chair Jacob Davis agreed with Welter and Evans that one consistent part of Markert’s job is how she has to approve and look over every part of the school. Whether it is sitting in on one of Davis’s chemistry lessons to reviewing Evan’s athletic schedules, it all has to be approved by Markert.
“As a teacher, we are constantly being evaluated or observed, whether it is by ISU students, other teachers, or Mrs. Markert,” Davis said. “It is one of the best parts of being an administrator, walking around and seeing all the amazing things all the faculty are doing in their classrooms.”
Overall while Markert’s job requires a lot of flexibility to keep up with constant daily change, she feels grateful for the opportunities inside of U-High and how she gets to lead the people in this school.
“Every single day is different, but I feel like that’s the exciting part about the job,” Markert said. “I do feel very lucky to work with this great group of teachers and we have such great students. Every day I am so grateful to have this job so that makes it easier when you really like your job.”
