FM staff member Ms. Elizabeth Wheeler follows in the footsteps of her family. Her grandfather was the principal and assistant principal of FM High School, her father was the principal of Wellwood, and her mother was a teacher and administrator. Her family has dedicated their lives to education in the FM community.
Ms. Wheeler currently works as an FM administrator. She can often be seen bustling around the school, directing student activities, and disciplining wayward students. “I don’t eat, I don’t drink water— it’s a lot of things to balance,” she said, referring to her hectic schedule. She is in charge of grade eleven discipline, as well as part of grade nine. Her other responsibilities include: signing off on things, helping to fundraise, approving new clubs/organizations, and overall making sure our school runs smoothly. There are one hundred and four clubs at FM, and this week alone, four more new ones came to her for approval.
Before becoming an administrator, Ms. Wheeler worked at FM for twenty three years as an English teacher. She grew up in a family of educators, and all four of her sisters also went into education. They are a family legacy here, but Ms. Wheeler never felt like she had to teach specifically at FM. Before FM, she worked in Rochester, and then West Genny. To her, the family legacy was carried on simply through education.
Ms. Wheeler said, “Education was always in the blood. But we always had options.” She did not go into education because her family did. She went into education because she cares about kids. And she loved her position as an English teacher. Coming from an educator background, she has a unique perspective, which helps her in her administration role.
Ms. Wheeler decided to get her administration degree several years ago. She always wanted to become an administrator eventually. It was only a matter of when. She said, “Time passes very swiftly, and all of a sudden I was like, oh my gosh, I’m approaching 45, and I thought, well, why don’t I get the degree?” However, after getting her degree, she felt content to continue teaching English. But as luck had it, two administrator positions opened up, and after a lot of thought, Ms. Wheeler applied. “It was a hard decision… I really loved teaching, and who was I to change my life at 49 years old? Who does that?” she said. This is her second year as an FM administrator now, and though she misses teaching English, she does not regret her change in career. She thinks of it as another type of teaching.
As someone who has been in FM for decades, as both a student and teacher, and now an administrator, Ms. Wheeler is incredibly familiar with the district. Her favorite part of FM is the people. She feels connected to this district, and her aspiration as an administrator is to make sure every kid and staff member can also feel connected to their school. However, when asked about her least favorite part, Ms. Wheeler said, “There are so many incredible opportunities for kids, and I think there’s a challenge to connect every kid with somebody from this building. How do I help the kids that are struggling to connect do that?” It is true that some kids do not get along well at school— it is not a comfortable place for them, like it should be for everyone. Ms. Wheeler truly cares about kids, and she is working to help them, especially the ones which may slip through the cracks of the public school system.
Ms. Wheeler said, “I love this building, and when I say building, I mean the people in it, and the kids in it, and all I want for this district is good.”
