By Emmie Amason
After 43 years in education, Rockbridge County High School Principal Mike Craft is retiring Jan. 1. Craft, 66, has been the principal at RCHS since 2017.
Retiring mid-year allows him to retire at the same time as his wife, who is a nurse, Craft said. The timing also allows him to work alongside his successor and provide any information he needs to pass along.
While it was not an easy decision to retire, Craft said, he wanted to ensure he was still in good health to be able to enjoy his retirement.
“I’m not going to stop doing something,” he said. “I will work part-time and do some substituting, and I also have some projects on the side I want to work on.
Craft knew he wanted to become an educator since he was a teenager.
“My father was a teacher in Rockbridge County, so that inspired me,” he said.
After his father died when he was 13, Craft said, teachers took on a bigger part in his life.
“So, the second thing that inspired me were my teachers in high school because I was an only child and they kind of stepped into a mentor type role,” he said.
Inspired by those teachers the impact those teachers had on him, Craft decided, and he wanted to become one himself.
Phillip Thompson, superintendent of Rockbridge County Schools, worked with Craft during all of eight years he was principal.
“He’s been able to lead with dignity and strength,” Thompson said. He noted that Craft led RCHS through a global pandemic and a major renovation.
On March 4, Thompson received a letter from Craft saying he was planning to retire Jan. 1.
“Mike is going to be missed by an awful lot of folks when he leaves,” he said.
Throughout his 43 years of teaching, the biggest change has been the advancement of technology, Craft said. Now, he deals with issues like this year’s ban on cell phones in school; when he started teaching in 1982, cell phones weren’t even invented.
“I would like to foster an environment that supports student growth and development while making a positive impact on students’ lives”
Once Thompson received Craft’s retirement letter, Chief Business Officer Jason Kirby reached out to all teachers and staff with an anonymous survey asking what characteristics they would want to see in their next principal.
Three teachers joined the interview committee, said Thompson, who made the final decision to hire Sparks, currently an assistant principal at RCHS. His hiring was announced at the school board meeting Tuesday.
“I would like to foster an environment that supports student growth and development while making a positive impact on students’ lives,” Sparks wrote in an email to the Rockbridge Report on Thursday. “I’m excited for the opportunity to serve and look forward to building upon the wonderful things currently happening at RCHS.”