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Written By Sam Morales and Vivienne Murphy October 2024
Miles Wheat, our new principal, joined the Chatham school community this school year. In the few months he has held this position, he has already made a remarkable impression on both students and staff of our school, yet most of us haven’t gotten to know him very well yet. Here is some background on Mr Wheat, his interest in taking this job in Chatham, some of his plans for the school, and a fun trivia at the end!
Mr Wheat originally comes from West Winfield, a town in Herkimer County, New York. He attended Susquehanna University in central Pennsylvania, receiving a degree in Environmental Geology. After college, Mr Wheat worked as an environmental chemist for four years, testing for PCBs and contaminants in reclamation sites, before going back for his Master’s degree at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts for environmental education. He started teaching in schools around the Boston area, such as Framingham and Worcester, before moving further west to North Adams, Massachusetts, and later Great Barrington, Massachusetts, then eventually back to upstate New York into the Chatham district.
During the interview process for Chatham’s new principal, Mr Wheat was especially fascinated by the Capstone project which all Chatham students participate in their senior year. He had seen firsthand the benefits of these kinds of portfolio projects in prior schools, as he believes they help students narrow down their interests and focus on what they want to learn or pursue after high school. As he studied Chatham’s curriculum leading up to this specific project, he became more and more interested in joining our district.
At the beginning of his career in administration, Mr Wheat underestimated how important clear communication is. He realized that as principal, he not only has to communicate effectively himself, but he also needs to put those systems in place that allow for teachers, students, and families to send messages to each other. Mr Wheat admits that in his first few years working as a principal, he frequently under communicated and expected people to understand him without sending the right messages, which is a skill he hopes to improve upon at Chatham.
Mr Wheat’s main goal in his first year at Chatham is to gain a deeper understanding of how this school functions. He wants to learn everyone’s names and get to know our students and faculty better as they get to know him better. He hopes to strengthen the senior experience with a focus on the Capstone project, as well as extending the Capstone curriculum to the lower grades.
So far, Mr Wheat has been extremely impressed by Chatham’s teachers, all of whom have proven to be skilled, collegial, and appreciative of one another. He was also shocked by the engagement and spirit of Chatham students, especially at our recent pep rally before Homecoming weekend as well as at soccer and football games. He believes that Chatham students are open to involvement in a wide variety of events and opportunities, which is very exciting to see.
Principle Wheat Trivia!
Principle Wheat Trivia!
What is the name of the town Mr. Wheat is originally from?
Answer: West Winfield, New York
What college in Pennsylvania did Mr. Wheat attend?
Answer: Susquehanna University
What did Mr. Wheat study in college?
Answer: Environmental Geology
Where did Mr. Wheat get his Masters Degree?
Answer: Lesley University in Cambridge
Principle Wheat True or False!
Principle Wheat True or False!
Principal Wheat’s favorite holiday is Christmas.
Answer: False! His favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.
Principal Wheat’s favorite place he has traveled to is Victoria Falls, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Answer: True! Principal Wheat traveled to Southern Africa while studying international development.
Principal Wheat has one cat.
Answer: False! Mr Wheat has one dog named Foxy.
Mr Wheat’s favorite TV show is Euphoria.
Answer: False! Mr Wheat’s favorite show is Galavant, a musical fantasy comedy series on CBS.
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