There will be a familiar face returning to the halls of Knox Central High School this school year.
Flat Lick Elementary principal Steve Partin, after serving the school for over twelve years, will be making a return to Knox Central that he left thirteen years ago for the Flat Lick position.
“We are thrilled to add Mr. Steve Partin as Assistant Principal at Knox Central High School,” said head principal Jeff Frost. “Steve brings high school teaching experience and many years of administrative experience as the principal at Flat Lick.”
During his time at Flat Lick, he brought a sense of community and enthusiasm that changed the school within a couple of year’s time. When asked if he was planning on working with the leadership team at Knox Central to do the same, Partin responded, “My plan for the next two years would be to assist the current leadership team with school culture improvements. I’ve had great success in this area. Seems as if this makes other stuff fall into place. Everyone wants to be a part of something special. I hope we can help create that for the students, staff, and community.”
Culture was not the only accolades he earned while at Flat Lick. During that first two years, test scores and classroom performance began their initial boost along with student confidence. This is something he plans on bringing to the high school.
“Every kid is different,” said Partin. “I will hit the ground running in forming relationships with students. Finding out their interest and building upon that. We have to understand that every kid is not going to choose the college route. It will be our job to introduce various career paths that will enable them to be successful after high school. This may be a skilled trade, technical school, military, etc.”
Frost commends Partin’s work in his curriculum to be a great asset for students combined with forming those relationships and helping students determine paths that they can take after high school. “Steve’s work in curriculum, instruction, & assessment will be a great asset for our teacher,” said Frost.
Keeping students engaged in the classroom can also relate to keeping them engaged in extracurricular activities including athletes and academic clubs. Flat Lick with it’s known history of championships in basketball will be a driving force for Partin as the number of sports programs increase and the Panther spirit continues to increase with many success stories even in the newest programs.
I’ve always relied on student athletes to be leaders throughout the school. High expectations will definitely be expected out of them,” said Partin. “Winning translates into the hallways and classrooms. We will make a push to continue growing our number of student athletes. The more the better. I would like to see all of KC’s extra curricular programs be overloaded to max capacity.”
Frost is looking forward to those expectations as Partin develops the relationships and build student leadership. “Steve’s energy and enthusiasm will build on the great work occurring at Knox Central and our mission of ‘cultivating a learning community centered around collaboration, communication, & critical thinking,” said Frost.
Being back at Knox Central, especially with the unknowns due to COVID-19 and the start of school in virtual and hybrid options, may make it an initial challenge for Partin in the beginning. But, he is ready to see colleagues and work with them as much as possible. “Being away from KCHS for nearly 13 years makes this transition bitter sweet. Some familiar faces are still there along with many new staff that I’m eager to meet,” said Partin. “I’m very excited for this opportunity to come back.”
His start date will be next week as he works with the SBDM council at Flat Lick to begin the process of searching for a new principal. “I met with our SBDM today at school and know that they will choose the right candidate to replace me,” said Partin. “12 years is a long time at one place as a school administrator. I have enjoyed every minute of it. I truly feel that Flat Lick Elementary is now a better place than when we first came aboard there in 2008.”
Partin also took time to address the staff at Flat Lick, making his hire at Knox Central known. “I talked with our staff today and many thanks went out. I’ve been blessed to work alongside some great people over the years,” Partin reflected. “A lot of people have contributed to the success stories of our kids at Flat Lick. I can’t thank them enough.”
No matter how school starts, or when it starts, Partin is looking forward to hitting the ground running. He currently has two kids at the school, Presley who will be a senior and Steven a freshman. “I’m not sure if they are excited or not,” said Partin. “They both had me as their principal throughout elementary school and now I’m back!”