up front
Don Firke
On being a
Head of School
T
his June will mark Don Firke's last days as the
head of Latin School. In January, Firke announced that
he is leaving Latin in pursuit of other opportunities. As
Latin's administrative manager, academic thoughtleader, financial steward and upper school teacher, he
has spent the last five years living and breathing Latin.
Describing his time here as a "whirlwind" and a
"learning process," Firke recently sat down with Latin
Magazine to share his thoughts on Latin, current
challenges in education and the future.
"What HASN'T happened in the past five years?"
Firke jokingly begins, listing the full spectrum of
school issues that Latin has faced during his time.
When Firke arrived in the summer of 2005, Latin had
18 months to go in a capital fundraising campaign
for the new middle school building. The excitement
and the pressure were high. Following that, came the
equally daunting task of seeing the construction
through. Like all major facilities projects, it was not
without its challenges, but in the fall of 2007, just two
years into Firke's tenure, the doors to our state-of-the
art middle school facility were opened. Today, the
building feels like it has always been a part of the
campus with students and teachers shuttling easily back
and forth across the bridge. "The volunteer effort
behind that project was amazing," says Firke. "It really
opened my eyes to what this community is capable of
and it was wonderful to witness the school embrace this
positive change."
While still in the glow of that huge accomplishment,
Latin soon began to feel the effects of the downward
slipping economy. "My background in economics has
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