Six years ago, Mr. Adam Eslami taught 7th grade History at Horner Junior High. Today, he’s an Assistant Principal at Horner and Irvington helping facilitate a smooth transition for freshmen moving into high school. 

After teaching History at Horner, Mr. Eslami decided to go back to college and obtain an administrative credential to become an assistant principal.

“I loved that students were getting the education that they needed, but I wanted to affect change beyond what I could do in my classroom,” Eslami said. “I wanted to do more, and I can’t do that unless I get out of the classroom. The next step up is school administration.”

Mr. Eslami spent a year at Brier Elementary as the assistant principal, but because of budget cuts, the school district placed him back in the Irvington district. 

At Irvington, Mr. Eslami watches over the freshmen class and English Language Learning department, handling schedule accommodations and behavior. He evaluates teachers by giving them constructive feedback on their teaching and consulting them about classroom needs. At Horner, Mr. Eslami has more responsibilities while managing a smaller group of students compared to Irvington. As the assistant principal, he manages testing, special education, behavior, and parental concerns about the school system. Mr. Eslami spends Mondays and Tuesdays at Horner and the rest of the week at Irvington. Through this schedule, he hopes to smoothen the transition period between junior high and high school and better understand students’ specific needs and accommodations. 

While Mr. Eslami enjoys tackling the challenges of administrative duties, he still misses the close knit environment of a classroom.

“I miss interacting with the kids and getting to know them really well,” Eslami said. “I also do miss being able to get home earlier, but I feel like my job is more important now, and I like it. I feel like I can help [students] do more and focus on the ones that need the most help.

Throughout his time as an assistant principal and teacher, Mr. Eslami has noticed students’ unhealthy obsession with grades. He hopes to change that mentality and educate students early on about accepting their mistakes and maturing from their experiences. 

“I don’t want kids coming in thinking I have to take every AP on the list,” Eslami said. “I want them to understand that high school is one part of your life, but it does not determine the rest of your life. You could go into a completely different career, you can make a completely different choice; the grade you got in ninth grade doesn’t dictate who you are going to be for the rest of your life. It’s okay to make a mistake, but it’s important to learn from that failure and grow from it.”

Irvington’s large student body may feel daunting to a new assistant principal, but in the hallways, Mr. Eslami occasionally catches glimpses of his former students. 

“I can’t always remember their names, but if I look at them hard enough, I can usually recognize their faces. Seeing my students grown up, it’s really amazing. I’ve seen you guys as little kids, and now I’m seeing you as near adults. It’s like, as a team member of Horner or a team member of Irvington, I played a part in your education, and that’s really special to me.”