OCHS principal builds school spirit, community during first year
Bill Sampson said he let out a “sigh of relief” when the last of the graduates made their way across the field at Patriot Stadium on May 24.
The conclusion of the graduation ceremony marked the end of his first year as principal at Oglethorpe County High School, a year that went “better than expected.”
“It’s just a lot of responsibility, and some of the unknowns of being the person in charge had me just a little anxious,” Sampson said. “But once I got in here and we got going, just tremendous support, and the students were supportive of me in this role. I just feel like we handled everything quite well this year.”
Sampson has worked in Oglethorpe County schools since 2001. He spent the last eight years as the assistant principal at OCHS before taking over as principal from Susie Johnson this past school year.
One of his main goals in his first year was to connect more with students.
Between regularly visiting classrooms, organizing more school spirit events and meeting with the student council, he said he wanted to make sure his administration became better acquainted with the students.
“I think if you ask any student, they would tell you it’s evident that Mr. Sampson genuinely cares about their well-being, not just academically, but personally, as well,” said Erin Bunch, a health care science teacher at OCHS. “It’s the same with teachers, too. I feel like Mr. Sampson genuinely cares about me and my family.”
Beyond just connecting with students, Sampson also gave them an “open-door policy” to make their voices heard.
“I just tried to make sure that they knew I was approachable,” he said. “Don’t be scared to come talk to me, and let’s work on this because it’s our school, it’s not my school.”
His door was always open to teachers, too.
“He wants to know what people think,” Bunch said. “He recognizes that everybody has different strengths, and he wants to utilize everybody on the team’s strengths to make sure that we as a school do the best we can.”
Bunch is a member of the school’s leadership team, a group that includes department representatives and school administrators. The department leaders listen to other teachers’ concerns, relaying them to administration in monthly meetings.
"I think teachers really appreciated knowing that that information actually made it to us and that we listened to it and responded to it,” first-year assistant principal Lauren Carlson said.
Carlson said the administration’s biggest goal was to make sure students and teachers felt like they had more of a voice. She said Sampson’s leadership and emphasis on communication greatly improved the culture of the school.
“We wanted to make the school a place where the students wanted to be every day,” she said. “We had giveaways for teachers, and a lot more fun events that we tried to do to bring everybody together. I really think everybody enjoyed being in the high school every day.”
Leadership organized holiday themed days, prize giveaways and even a March Madness event to help make a positive work environment, Bunch said.
Sampson said he plans to continue building morale next year, making students, faculty and staff all feel like “stakeholders.”
“I’d like to see our school spirit continue to grow,” Sampson said. “Whether it be trying to decorate a little better or make things more Patriot-oriented, or just try to encourage ways for students to get involved in their school and show that school spirit, as well as around the community. Those are some things I’d like to do.”