“Hey Goody! Get over here!” Athens High School Principal Mike Meek shouted to John Goodwin, the school’s Dean of Students in the office next door to him.
Meek and Goodwin had just returned from lunch duty, a job they voluntarily do every day and were preparing for the next bell to ring. The two administrators want to be present and amongst the students.
For more than 30 years, the Athens High School administrators have occupied the main offices at the school, working side by side. But after this school year, the longtime co-workers and friends have decided to retire.
“The kids just love (Goodwin),” Meek said. “They’ll see us out in the hallway and we’ll be going after each other and the kids will be shocked.”
In a friendship that began at Ohio University — from which they both graduated in 1976 — the two planned on retiring together several months ago.
“I always said when he goes, I’m going, 'cause that’s just what we're going to do, and that’s what we decided,” Goodwin said.
In retirement, Meek plans to work with his son at his business and Goodwin is excited to keep up with his hobbies and spend more time with his grandchildren.
“I’m a watercolor painter and I carve and I’m a toy-maker. So I’ll make wooden toys for my grandchildren right now,” Goodwin said. “So I’ll stay busy, plus we’ve got a Christmas tree farm that I’ll work at.”
Along with Meek and Goodwin, Superintendent Carl Martin said four other Athens High School teachers are retiring or resigning from their positions. Spanish teacher Sherri Dunfee, guidance counselor Sharon Berry, special-education teacher Margaret McCuskey, and science teacher Alan Shafer are leaving their posts.
“I’ve known (Meek and Goodwin) for 18 years, and I can truly say that they are just tremendous people, who are dedicated, and have worked extremely hard for the students and staff of the school, and for that I’m grateful,” Martin said.
Meek began his career at the high school as the Athletics Director, a position he held for five years until he became principal. Before working at the school, Meek worked at his father’s trucking company after graduating college.
“My wife gave me an ultimatum,” Meek said. “One day she says, ‘You’re either going to use your (education) degree or else.’ It wasn’t a month later I got my first job offer and it was probably the best move I ever made, and I blame it all on my wife.”
When Meek began working at Athens High School, he contacted Goodwin — who was working in physical education — and asked him to be his dean of students.
“I tried it and I liked it, and I thought we made a great team,” Goodwin said. “It just seems to have worked out for me, and I’ve been very, very lucky in my career.”
Meek and Goodwin have been a team at the school, creating philosophies for students to abide by and treating all students equally.
“I think every day’s been an adventure for us,” Goodwin said. “People think we’re crazy and think, ‘Man, I wouldn’t have your job for anything,’ and you know what? I wouldn’t have any other job.”
One flaw Meek and Goodwin see in the education system is the amount of testing, which they agree leaves teachers having to “teach to the test” instead of teaching outside the box. They also disagree with the O-Test — commonly known as the teacher evaluation system — which grades teachers based on the performance of the students.
“The problem is that not every kid is the same,” Meek said. “So now you’ve got kids that are on all ends of the spectrum and how they perform depends on whether you get rated as an effective teacher or an ineffective teacher.”
When the two administrators retire, they said they’re going to miss working with the kids, who “kept them young.”
“I’m also just going to miss hanging out with (Meek) in the office every day,” Goodwin said. “You wake up every day with 850 kids and 65 staff members and you miss that hustle and bustle everyday. I’m really, really going to miss that.”
az346610@ohiou.edu
