This school year, Mineral Point has gained a new middle school principal, Mrs. McGraw! Mrs. McGraw is very familiar with our community and has been teaching here for almost seven years. Because of her new position within our school, we decided to interview her and ask her some questions about it, but also learn more about her as a person.
Mrs. McGraw has been teaching for almost seventeen years altogether. She began teaching in Monroe where she taught for five years and later on taught at Platteville for another five years. She got her undergrad from UW Platteville along with her teaching degree for birth-11th grade and a minor in special education. After teaching for two years, someone recommended the idea of her eventually becoming a principal. She liked the idea and decided to return to school to get her administration license.
Mrs. McGraw grew up and went to school in Mineral Point, but what brought her back to teach here herself was her daughter, Mira, starting elementary school. She wanted to teach in an environment where she knew the community was supportive as that would benefit her and her family.
When she was first offered the role of principal, Mrs. McGraw was incredibly excited. She says she was thrilled that other people wanted her to lead and showcase her leadership skills. Because Mrs. McGraw has been teaching at Mineral Point for the past several years, she is familiar with a lot of the kids who attend our schools. This is one of the things that drew her to the principal position because she wanted to watch the kids she’s known here grow, learn, and do the things they love. Along with the kids, she has grown to love the teachers here with whom she has built good connections during her time teaching. This year, some of Mrs. McGraw’s goals are to continue to get to know everyone and find ways to support teachers and students in new ways. She also wants to execute more fun activities for the students and find ways to bring all three of the schools together. This empowers students to be able to make an impact on each other in more fun and positive ways. Mrs. McGraw wants all the students to feel connected and comfortable with each other. She wants everyone to be able to enjoy school and interacting with other students.
All new jobs come with highs and lows so we asked Mrs. McGraw about her favorite and least favorite parts of the job so far. As most of us would expect, principals are often very busy. She says one of the things that has been difficult so far is finding time to do everything that needs to get done. As a principal, she is often distracted by so many different daily tasks that are often not planned for, so she is left trying to figure out what she needs to prioritize in order to get things done efficiently. She claims that one of the biggest changes she has had to make so far is improving her time management skills. Some of her favorite parts of the job are being able to see the school from a different perspective and working with Mrs. Brinkman of course!
Lastly, we asked Mrs. McGraw some questions about herself so we could get to know her better as a person. We started by asking her who or what her biggest inspiration(s) are. She says that every day, she is inspired by her whole family; each person inspires her in a different way; her husband, Mr. McGraw, with his patience; her son, Oakely, with his positive attitude; her daughter, Mira, with her ability to find the humor in things; her older brother, who always encourages people to try new things; and her mom and younger brother who believe that anyone can do anything they put their minds to.
We also asked Mrs. McGraw some other questions about her life like what she likes to do in her free time and what some of her favorite things are. Mrs. McGraw’s favorite thing to do in her free time is play outside with her kids. They enjoy playing outdoor sports like volleyball, basketball, football, and other things like practicing pitching with Mira. She also enjoys lots of indoor activities as well including board games, baking, reading, and more! Mrs. McGraw’s favorite color is pink, her favorite food is cheese pizza (specifically from Casey’s), her favorite place is her house, her favorite show is Full House, her favorite music artist is Taylor Swift, and her favorite animal is an elephant.
Overall, Mrs. McGraw is an amazing principal who is perfect for the position. We are so glad we got the opportunity to get to know more about her on a personal level and hear her thoughts on the new position as well. Although the job does have its ups and downs, we have zero doubts that she will power through it all and be a great leader.
