This year at Dee-Mack High School a special freshman that means a lot to our principal came up from the Junior High. Kyle Holmgren is now a freshman at Dee-Mack High School, where his Dad, Mr. Holmgren works as the principal. Most students would not enjoy having their Dad working as their school principal. Students might be embarrassed, worried about getting treated differently, or just not wanting to go to school with their dad, however Kyle seemed to have nothing but positive things to say about going to school with his Dad. Kyle was asked if he felt people treated him differently because of who his dad was and the role that he plays in our High school. Kyle responded by saying, “ Not really, most of the closest friends know him so not much has really changed from Jr. High.” He was then asked if he thinks his friends or classmates hold out on him because his dad is their principal. He responded to this by saying, “I think most people are still pretty honest and open with me.” People might also assume that high school for Kyle is much different than Jr. High, but Kyle explained that it does not have much effect on him by saying, “ I don’t see him that much, not much has changed, it is weird seeing him throughout the day, but he still took me to school last year like he does this year so it’s not much different. He does sometimes have to come into my class room to watch my teachers so that’s different, but overall not much has changed.” Kyle was also asked about the pressures he deals with everyday with his dad being the principal and if he feels more pressure than any other student does. Kyle says he does not feel any extra pressure by this and also states, “I don’t think so, I am a pretty good kid.” Although this might be a change for Kyle in his day to day life, he seems to be enjoying going to school everyday with his dad!
Mr. Holmgren has been working in the Dee-Mack School district for 22 years, and has been a principal at the high school for 3 years. He is very familiar with his job, what it looks like, and his daily routine to be the best principal possible. This year something new that has never happened to him as a principal happened to him. His son, Kyle, started his freshman year at Dee-Mack High School. When Mr. Holmgren was asked the question: does it ever get difficult having to treat your son like every other student on a daily basis? He had nothing but positive things to say. He answered this question by saying, “ Surprisingly, no. As this year approached, I wondered how my interactions with Kyle would be and I don’t find it that difficult to treat him like any other student. I really don’t have that many interactions with him throughout the day. Just the other day I said to him – “I can’t believe how little I see you during the day.” He was also asked if he feels that he holds Kyle to a higher standard than most students at the high school. To this he responded by saying that he holds Kyle to the same standard as a principal that he does as his dad. Adding in, “ I expect him to treat others the right way, be respectful, give his best effort and make the most of every day.” Mr. Holmgren was also asked to give his opinion on whether or not he thinks Kyle gets treated differently by students and staff because his dad is our high school principal. He responded to this by explaining that he does not feel like Kyle is treated any differently than any other student, and he does not expect him to be. He then states, “ I expect him to treat others the right way, be respectful, give his best effort and make the most of every day.” This highlights that although Kyle might know the staff better than the average student, he is still treated like the average student.
Now that Kyle is in high school, things can be very different for both Mr. Holmgren and Kyle, but both seem to be making the most of the situation. Neither of them have any complaints about going to the same school everyday and Mr. Holmgren even started, “ I really enjoy having him at the same high school that I work at. I am so thankful that he is being taught by an amazing group of teachers that care deeply about him and the entire student body. I am very proud of the Dee-Mack School District and thankful that he is part of such a wonderful school and community.” The Holmgrens really enjoy getting to go to school everyday and be a part of the same amazing community we are all a part of.
