Assistant principals are vital to any school complex. Supervision, discipline and monitoring of students are all necessary and important parts of the complex ecosystem that is a school.

All of these things and more require a great amount of commitment and duty, so much so that some may not be able to handle it for a long period of time. Luckily, we have had the honor of having someone capable and experienced here at Rocklin High for the past 23 years.

Our assistant principal, Mark Douglas, has been serving Rocklin since its founding in 1993. As assistant principal, he has served under every principal thus far, from “Hawkins, Garrison, Spears, David Bills, and now Mr. Stewart.”

He explained that under each principal, each “brought something new to the table.”

“Some principals are more visionary and look at the big picture, while others are more management and focus more on the here and now,” Douglas said.

Adapting to each new principal’s style was mostly a smooth change. Being under so many principals, Douglas is used to change in the leadership.

“It is relatively easy because the principals go through training and are prepared for their duties and how to manage us,” Douglas said. “Change in leadership takes a lot of time to work out the details.”

Since he began, he says his style of working has changed due to his “experience in knowing what works best with students and staff.”

Change in leadership doesn’t mean that he hasn’t changed himself.

“As you get more experienced, you make adjustments that are unnoticeable but as you look back you realized you’ve changed,” Douglas said.

He especially thinks that a strong student focus keeps a school’s administration strong. He has been connected with our students around campus since his arrival at our school.

“Contact with the students, such as monitoring during lunch time, and getting their opinion really helps with our decision making… I find that working with the students is much more fun than working with the administration,” Douglas said.

The combined experience of working under so many different principals for so many years has made Douglas part of Rocklin’s history. He is part of the fabric that makes Rocklin the school it is today.