Dr. Muttillo working in his office in between academic breakfasts on Friday, May 11. He is settling into life at Leesville, learning the Leesville way.
“In high school, I learned to type on a typewriter. When I went to college, I brought a word processor with me. Over the same period of time, information was stored on an 8-inch floppy disk, than a 3 inch floppy disk, then a CD, then a flash drive, and now we have information stored in a virtual cloud.”
In this quote via email, Dr. Muttillo acknowledges that the world is constantly changing.
However he wants to “provide stability to the principalship at Leesville Road High.”
This isn’t a new challenge for Dr. Muttillo. West Millbrook Middle School (Muttillo’s previous school) Instrumental Music teacher Heidi Sue Ross mentioned via email what a great job he did there.
“Dr. Muttillo joined WMMS following a very turbulent 3 year period, during which the school changed principals twice.”
Sound Familiar? After Mr Lyons departure to Enloe, followed by a brief interim principalship by Dr. Dixon, Leesville is no stranger to principal turn over.
Leesville parent and current West Millbrook guidance counselor Dawn Clark said via email that Dr. Muttillo should be able to come in and have the same effect.
“Dr. Muttillo opened doors for me and so many others at WMMS (West Millbrook Middle School). He has allowed programs to begin and continue that benefit and highlight all WMMS students,” said Clark.
Clark also talked about how she feels as both a West Millbrook employee and a Leesville parent.
“As a parent, staff, and PTA member of WMMS we are very sad to see Dr. Muttillo leave WMMS; however, as a parent at LRHS I as well as the other LRHS parents and families are very excited to see him coming to our school.”
Both Clark and Ross mentioned that Muttillo is an open-minded principal, and in my email interview with him, he mentioned ways he would like to impact the school.
Technology is a big part of Muttillo’s plans, as he said that he wants to “make sure everyone has access to the technology they need to produce 21st century digital products.”
He talked about an article titled “21 Thing that Will Be Obsolete by 2020,” and how it shows that things will change at Leesville, and how he wants to make that change.
“I also want to evaluate the types of technology available to teachers and students and make sure everyone has access to the technology they need to produce 21st century digital products.”
Although he may be into improving the technology, his favorite part of the job is much simpler.
“Some of my most enjoyable moments are simply being able to sit back and watch magical moments where teachers and students display their individual talents,” said Muttillo.
He also said that he likes to see this at every level, saying that they can take place in “classrooms, athletic competitions, and other extra-curricular activities, such as music, dance, theatre, academic competitions, and service clubs. “
Whether or not he is able to accomplish all his goals, one thing is clear: Leesville has a great new principal.