Sarah Maughan
While principal, Hernandez would meet with an advisory group of students to discuss issues affecting the school community.
Principal Mike Hernandez’s announcement on July 24 that he is leaving East High School to be become chief of high schools for the Madison school district sent spasms of dismay through near-east-side social networks.
Crying-face emojis crowded my daughter’s Snapchat. “Everyone who posted was really sad,” said Rose, a rising sophomore. She and her friend Ana agreed that what they will miss most about Mr. Hernandez, as he is called by the students, is his amazing capacity to make connections with all the kids in school, and “that resource of feeling that someone cares,” as Ana put it.
“He knows everybody by name,” Rose added.
On Facebook, parents posted congratulatory comments but added words like “bittersweet.”
“East will have a hard adjustment ahead, but I know you will be there to help guide,” wrote one East mom.
This is the second time Hernandez is leaving a school that our kids attend. Four years ago, our oldest daughter moved from Sherman Middle School to East High School with him. Our younger daughters lived through the rough transition that came after he left, as it became clear how much he had done to hold the school together — and how sorely he would be missed.
Not only did he greet every student by name at the door each morning, he remembered all of the parents and grandparents, too. He gave a lot of his time and care to kids who grew up in tough circumstances, as he had, staying late to play basketball on Friday nights. And he poured his boundless energy into creating special programs that appealed to kids from all different backgrounds, including a Warner Park outdoor club and cooking lessons with chef Tory Miller of L’Etoile, who closed his restaurant and served a special meal to Sherman’s French students every year (until budget cuts did away with middle-school French).
Sherman was a lively, interesting environment while Hernandez was there. After he left, the school fell apart. Only now, years later, is it recovering from much-publicized problems and a staff and student exodus that followed his departure.
East was lucky to get him. Like Milt McPike, who was the principal back when I went to East High, Hernandez brought out the best qualities in the school. The relaxed, unpretentious, diverse environment at East suited his style. His warmth united people and made them feel like they were part of a team. In part because of Hernandez, East’s atmosphere is less competitive and friendlier than many other schools. My kids are East partisans, proud of the values Hernandez promoted there — diversity, friendliness, and an open-hearted and social-justice-oriented ethic.
Hernandez’s genius for building strong relationships, and his palpable love for people, created a warmer, less fractious environment wherever he went.
I thought about that at commencement this year, as we sat in the Kohl Center watching our oldest daughter graduate. As we listened to Hernandez’s touchingly emotional commencement speech we figured he was getting choked up because he had started out at East with the class of 2019. None of us realized at the time that he was graduating with them, too.
Watching the parade of graduates, I was struck by East’s diversity, and by the speakers’ emphasis on community and social justice, as opposed to individual achievement and getting ahead. Those are not the themes you hear at every commencement. At its core, the lesson my kids have taken away from their time with Hernandez at East is that, by taking care of each other, we make a better world for everyone. Those values are worth more than any quantity of test prep. And they may help guide our beleaguered school district toward a better day.
The good news is that Hernandez will continue to shape the environment in the Madison schools in his new role. And unlike his replacement at Sherman, who came from outside the district and never seemed to take much interest in getting to know the community, the interim principal at East, Brendan Kearney, is a popular teacher who knows the school well and has his own deep connections with East kids.
But I’m still sad that Hernandez is moving on from what seemed to be the perfect job for him, roaming the halls at East, with a big smile and warm greeting for all the students and family members alike.
In a farewell letter to students, he wrote, “If there is one thing that I hope that you walked away with through our interactions, it is the fact that you all matter, you are powerful and you have the ability to improve society.”
“I hope that you truly recognize your greatness,” he added. “Remember to take a deep breath or two when you need to center yourself. You are made of love, hope and joy and you need to let it shine through for all to see.”
Back at you, Mr. Hernandez. Shine on.
Ruth Conniff is editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Examiner.
