The West Bloomfield Spectrum Staff sat down with new West Bloomfield High School principal, Mr. Pat Watson and asked him a numerous amount of questions varying from his high school experiences, to what his favorite subject is. Watson values the well being of all of his students, and looks forward to being able to work with each and everyone of them.

Spectrum:What college did you attend, and what did you major in?

Watson: I went to Eastern Michigan University  and I majored in psychology and history.

Spectrum:Why did you choose to work at West Bloomfield High School, and what do you like most about it?

Watson: Well my first year here was August of 1994,and I was fortunate coming out of college, had some options, so I was choosing between working here, going to Fair Fox Virginia which I really loved that area, teaching in Ann Arbor Huron , or teaching at Rochester, and I decided to come to West Bloomfield because the assistant principal at the time was Joanne Andrees and she convinced me that West Bloomfield was by far the best place to go and come and work,and if it wasn’t for her I would have just stayed and went back to my former high school and taught at Ann Arbor Huron.

Spectrum: What were your other positions, and what do you enjoy about them?

Watson: Well, previously I was the assistant principal and athletic director, and the thing I enjoyed the most, is the thing I enjoy most about teaching and my new position which is just being able to work with the kids, the best part of the day is always working with the students. If the other parts that I don’t really enjoy, the paperwork the politics, but any time I can spend with the students is the best part by far.

Spectrum:What do you plan on doing to improve the high school?

Watson: One of the things I plan to do is to try to make sure the staff has the highest morale possible; if the staff is excited, and the staff feels valued, and the staff feels that as an administrator I have their best interest in mind,they’ll do a better job, and they’ll be happier and it’ll be a whole trickle down effect so that they are more excited about doing their job,and that’ll rub off on the students. I also want to make sure all the administrators and staff knows that  students are going to make mistakes, and how we deal with that is we need to make sure it’s still a learning experience for students and that as an adult if you’re going to make a mistake, you should always make a mistake in favor of the student and I think that’s very important.

Spectrum: What do you plan on doing to make sure the students have a good high school experience?

Watson: I want us to be the number one ranked high school in the United States and I know in the most recent news we pooled 305 out of 400. I also wanted it to be a place where students feel safe to come to and I’m not talking about “Ahh, they’re going to beat me up!” That just regardless of your background or your ethnicity or your color or your race or your religion or your gender preference that you feel accepted at the high school and you feel like it’s a warm and caring place for you. I think that is really important.

Spectrum: What do you like most about your new position at West Bloomfield High School.

Watson: The same reason I get up every day to be working with the kids there is  no particular thing that is the best part of the day. Like I said before it is always being able to talk with the students, hang out with the students work with the students. The rest of the job I don’t  really care for–I just like that part. I think this job will allow me to spend more time with students than my previous job.

Spectrum: Did you like high school as a teen?

Watson: I always liked school especially in middle school I really enjoyed school. I don’t like a lot of surprises so school every year when it started, you know what time you have to be there, you know what time the day ends, you know when your vacations are. No one’s going to change it on you, and that was always a good feeling. I always liked learning new things so to me the structure of a school, and always being able to learn new things. Even though I get older I don’t feel old because every year the students are fourteen to eighteen so it doesn’t matter how old I get, all the students are going to be fourteen to eighteen so you always feel like you are part of something; you always feel relevant to what’s going on.

Spectrum: Did you ever think of becoming a school administrator as a child?

Watson: I didn’t. My whole desire and passion was to teach and that was it, but when the athletic director and assistant principal came over five years ago I talked to the superintendent and I talked to other staff members about it and it seemed like it’d be a good fit and a good opportunity, and it was a decision I felt that if I didn’t make the now the position would probably would not come up again.