by Jessica Chow and Ella Thomas, staff writers
After working tirelessly as an IRF (Instructional Reform Facilitator) at Galileo for the past 4 years, Mr. Larsen has seen his hard work pay off this year as he was selected to be Galileo’s newest assistant principal. In his new role, Mr. Larsen provides counseling and pupil services. caring and loving all the students.
Mr. Larsen says, “I see students’ humanity and hope to guide them to be young, active, and participatory adults.” Additionally, he values empowering each and every student to live up to their potential.
To prepare for his new role, former Assistant Principal, Ms. Kiss, took Mr. Larsen under her wing as he had no background in counseling, and Ms. Kiss showed him the importance of having a proactive counseling department and coached him in managing systems and people.
When Ms. Kiss left her position, Mr. Larsen applied for the job and went through 5 interviews: three with the district, one with the Galileo staff, and one with the assistant superintendent. The appeal of being assistant principal was having a bigger impact on the lives of students and teachers, and creating a better world for future generations.
Over the past 4 years, Mr. Larsen saw every year he worked at Galileo as an interview, where he had to prove to teachers, staff, and students that he was the right fit for the role of Assistant Principal, while as an IRF, his role consisted of supporting teachers, and coaching them.
Mr. Larsen did not always see a future in administration. During his 5th year of teaching, one of the administrators at his school suggested that he go into administration. He wanted to have a larger reach on student success and thought this would be the best way. His goals as an administrator are to become a principal and to one day open his own school!
For many students at Galileo, Mr. Larsen is known as being one of the most spirited people at Galileo. Mr. Larsen’s school spirit comes from his very own high school years, coming from a small community school where everyone knew, supported, and cared for each other. When asked about school spirit, Mr. Larsen said, “I feel Galileo is a huge value to the community and want to create the same atmosphere [as his high school].”
