New AHS assistant principal never expected career in education

Education

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November 11, 2009

By Eric Bryden

He may have been raised in Roswell, N.M., but self-proclaimed "stern faced guy in a dark suit" Christopher C. Phillips is not a Man in Black. He's the new assistant principal to the sophomore class at Andover High School - and he only wears an ear piece to stay in touch with the main office.

Phillips grew up in Roswell, a town where some conspiracy theorists believe the government covered up the crash of an alien spacecraft in 1947.

Phillips joked that while he can seem like a member of the FBI, his earpiece actually is "a great conversation starter. A student asked me a few days ago if I was in the Secret Service," he said, laughing.

Of course, Phillips is not. And when he was a high school student he never expected to become an educator either.

After graduating from high school, Phillips attended Boston University, receiving a bachelor's degree in English. He only started to get his masters degree in education at Boston University as a "placeholder," he said. However, he quickly discovered his passion for working with adolescents, realizing that a career in education was the career for him.

"There is nothing more rewarding than positive interaction with students. Education is about working with people, and helping them," says Phillips. He then laughed while reflecting on himself as a 10-year-old telling his father he would "never be a teacher."

While studying for his masters, Phillips student-taught at Boston Latin Academy. After earning his degree, he taught English for grades 9-12 at Everett High School for six years, while directing the drama club during four of those years. After his six years of teaching at Everett, Phillips became the dean at Weymouth High School for three years.

Phillips was interested in coming to Andover High School because of its strong reputation not just in Massachusetts, but in the entire country, he said. Additionally, as a North Andover resident with a wife and two children, the commute to Andover makes it easier for him to devote time to both his career and to his family.

Phillips said sitting through classes is a "great way to get to know the students and faculty," which is his main hope for the school year. Phillips encourages students to strike up a conversation with him, whether it be about a school event, or, he said, laughing, about his earpiece.

As an assistant principal at Andover High School, Phillips said he has the opportunity to help as many as 1,800 students, while as a teacher, he only had the opportunity to help around 100 students.

As a newcomer himself, Phillips had some words of advice for members of the class of 2013 who may be anxious about being part of a new school. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to "take a deep breath in, and enjoy what AHS can offer, like extracurriculars. Enjoy what's around you," he said.

He said he can feel like a 14-year-old freshman at times, adding "we go into education to see through the eyes of a 14-year-old. It enables us to empathize with students."

Having only been at the high school for two months, Phillips said it was hard to think about what he would like to change about the strong Andover High School community, but he hopes that students and faculty can "in general, be positive, and try to find solutions instead of problems."

At the end of the day, Phillips said there are few things more rewarding than knowing "I did something good for someone today."

Eric Bryden is an Andover High School student working as an intern as part of a program through Andover High School.