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Some people wear lots of hats; Sam Rencher wears many pairs of shoes.
When Rencher, the new principal of Forbes Elementary School, introduced himself to the faculty, he told about himself by showing various shoes he wears for different activities. He also showed them those of his family members.
"I have missionary shoes, ones for scuba, motorcycle riding, ice hockey, bowling, skiing, dancing and more," he said. "If you can think of a sport I probably have it. They are all hobbies that I have and I love."
Despite having those hobbies, he doesn't get to do them all that often.
"Where I put my time is my kids," he said.
They include his own four sons and a daughter due in October, along with the students at Forbes.
Rencher brings a lot of experience to the job. He has 10 years teaching at Sharon and Bonneville Elementary Schools in Orem.
"Between the two schools I have taught every grade from kindergarten through sixth," he said. "During the first seven years I also was a literacy specialist with the district, plus a literacy coach, release time coach, literacy coordinator and literacy in-service teacher."
While he was at Bonneville, he was assigned to work at BYU.
"I was still an employee of Alpine School District, but I taught management and leadership," he said. He also supervised pre-service teachers.
He applied for a principalship and earned a second master's degree.
Even though he is serving as a principal, he still considers himself a teacher.
"I love the kids so much," he said. "I love how alive they are and how much fun they are to be with. What I would like to do is go into the classrooms. I don't intend on giving up teaching the students."
Only when pressed does he tell people he is a principal.
"When people ask me, I still say I am a teacher. That is a noble thing," he said. "When they ask me what subject I teach, then I tell them I am actually a principal."
He said he was looking forward to this new year at Forbes.
"I am really excited to be here," he said. "There are such remarkable people. It will be a great year."
When he started his teaching career, he had similar feelings, and felt he was ready, particularly in certain subjects. He decided to improve the others.
"I felt like I had a pretty good grasp on math," he said. "I felt like writing was an area I could improve on." He continued to improve and his first thesis was in writing.
Rencher has continued to focus on the subject.
"I have a book ready for publication," he said. "It is a science book, a high interest non-fiction book about space. It is about the planets and the solar system, but in an interesting way."
One day he may write a full-length book, but he said that is in the future.
"Novels are a fun challenge, but they are a time issue," he said.
Rencher lives in Provo, and he grew up in that community.
"I went to Wasatch Elementary School and my dad was a teacher there," he said. His dad, Grant, has now retired, but the two family members once shared something in common.
"At one point we were both teaching fourth grade at the same time," he said.
His philosophy of education includes focusing on the goals.
"It is really about student achievement, not just academic, but emotional, security and safety," he said. "Everything we do has to be based on what is best for the kids."
A secondary goal is related to the teachers.
"Teachers need to be happy," he said. "I support the teachers. They are the most important factor in a student's educational life."
Supporting the students and teachers does away with a lot of need for other activities, he said.
"Management isn't an issue," he said. "If you respect the students, love them, play with them, and go to recess with them you will get them to succeed and love school. Management becomes a non-issue. School is exciting and fun." |
