1.He begins his day with classical music

With a busy day ahead, Mr. Anderson likes to prepare his mind and his mood for the challenges that he may encounter. He finds that listening to classical music on his way to work does just that. Now, I am not sure if he truly blares classical music when he rides his motorcycle to work, but you can ask him!

2.He is an interior designer

During my day with Mr. Anderson, things would come up out of nowhere.

For example, he got an email asking him to make specific decisions about how the school colors should be incorporated into the construction plans for the merger.

Mr. Anderson likes to take care of things right away, so Tony Gianesi, the Chief Operating Officer for Elkhart Community Schools, made himself available to not only talk colors, but to also talk building safety in regards to the construction plans and school layout convenience.  

This meeting took most of the afternoon, but Mr. Anderson and Mr. Gianesi were able to discuss a number of important details that had come up in respect to construction and the merger, even down to the color scheme.

3.His favorite emails are “short and sweet”

Mr. Anderson gets LOTS and I mean LOTS of emails, and he tries to respond to each of them the best that he can.

To stay organized he uses folders and he tries to solve every issue that is thrown his way as soon as possible so that they don’t pile up.

One tip that I can give you is that because he gets so many emails, you should make your emails short and to the point.

4.He knows all of the secret spots in our school

Another interesting thing I found out about Mr. Anderson is that he knows everything about our school, including a number of hidden locations that I didn’t even know existed.

For example, there is a loft in our auditorium and even a telescope on the roof of Memorial that can be used to look at the stars and the sun.

Getting a tour of these hidden locations was definitely the highlight of my day with him.

5.His secretary not only manages his schedule, but she reminds him to eat too.

With a wall-to-wall booked schedule (often down to the minute), Mr. Anderson doesn’t really take the time to sit down and have a meal.

Often his meal is a protein shake or a granola bar. His secretary, Mrs. Deb Keller, has to even remind him to eat sometimes.

6.His favorite part about being a principal is being with the students.

Mr. Anderson loves greeting people, telling them good morning and engaging in small-talk. He would do anything to make sure that his students are happy and ready for the day.

The little things count with Mr. Anderson, whether it be visiting a class to witness an interesting or innovative project or listening to the choir sing for a few minutes, these small moments are what make his job enjoyable.