Jim Armendariz (courtesy photo)
For 19 years, Jim Armendariz has roamed the halls of Ogden Elementary.
It’s the same place he scurried through the halls as a young boy. These days he gets around a little slower, with a cane by his side, but the mission toward young students remains unchanged.
“Our belief is that this place is secure. We feed them, we take care of them and often provide socks and underwear. Once we do that, the kids find that it’s a safe place to be and they want to learn,” he said.
Armendariz is retiring from the school he loves so dearly and has given so much to. His path to principal began as a custodian, then into the classroom as a teacher and ultimately into administration.
His story started back as a young immigrant student from Mexico at Ogden in 1964. He struggled at first since English wasn’t his native language and it wasn’t until second grade when he met the teacher who inspired him to become an educator.
“She recognized my ability instead of my disability. She gave me opportunities for success. I decided, hey I think I could do that for kids and I couldn’t wait to hopefully be half the teacher she was,” he said.
When Armendariz sat down for our interview, it was “Dress Up as Your Favorite Teacher Day.” Many students donned ties and canes that day, posing for photos with their favorite principal.
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so to see a kid dress up as the principal is a lot of fun,” he said.
Many students, faculty and even district leaders say Armendariz has certainly made a lasting impact on the district and the Ogden community during his illustrious 39 years in the district. In that time he’s been Miliken Educator, a National Blue Ribbon School Administrator and an inductee into the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame.
Armendariz says his philosophy has always steered away from consequences or punishment, rather focusing on teaching kids when they lack something.
“Behavior is often a cry for help. Behavior is often a cry for a need. When you can figure out that need because you have a good relationship with a child, then you can be a more effective teacher,” he said.
When he started as principal in 2002, it was right after the federal government implemented the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act, which supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. It required assessments to all students at select grade levels to receive federal school funding. With literacy levels not at the state’s standards nor at Ogden’s standards, Armendariz says the act also put added pressure on success because if one school failed, the entire district failed.
“It was easy for me to come in and say this is where we’re going because No Child Left Behind says we have to go there, but the culture shift of focusing on academics was one I had to implement,” he said.
That he says, is his proudest achievement, as it culminated in Ogden becoming recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2014.
As a Title I school, Armendariz doesn’t shy away from the fact that Ogden has the highest poverty rate in the district and constantly must overcome the stigma as being the out of town country school. He says in reality, Ogden is the best kept secret in the district.
“That stigma is something we’ve fought for a long time. I think they see the town and they assume that the school is just like the town. The school is actually a wonderful, hidden gem in the middle of the town,” he said.
Armendariz says redistricting this past year highlighted that stigma once again, as many parents in Manhattan fought against having their children transferred to Ogden. He says he was hurt by those words shared by many, and says Ogden is not the school it was decades ago.
“Ogden is a great place that any neighborhood should be proud to be redistricted into because they will ultimately find a very caring and socially and academically successful school just like any other school that they would want their child to go to,” he said.
This past year has shined a light on how hard teachers have worked in the district. During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, Armendariz says teachers were not only meeting the academic needs of students, but also delivering food and needs to houses until they weren’t allowed to.
“I have never seen teachers work harder. They had to learn new software, learn different strategies of keeping kids focused. They had to step up the game in many ways and they were up to the challenge,” he said.
Having students masked and social distanced all school year also has been a challenge and Armendariz says it also masked some of the social and emotional aspects of everyday activity.
“We don’t get to see the kids smile. We have to see the smile in their eyes and that’s tough. We don’t see the pain sometimes. It’s hard to judge how a kid is feeling, how they’re learning when they’re wearing a mask. That makes a teacher’s job harder,” he said.
Stepping away has been a tough decision for Armendariz, but one he’s comfortable with.
“Sometimes I look around and I say I can’t imagine giving this up, because it’s so fun to do and so rewarding to do, but I also know there are younger and great leaders coming up and I think probably it was time,” he said.
He plans to continue to work and volunteer in education wherever he’s needed in the future and hasn’t ruled out a possible run for school board in the future, just not in 2021.
Here’s what others are saying about Mr. Armendariz as he gets prepares for retirement.
“He has served as a mentor to hundreds of educators and a role model to thousands of students. Jim is a student-focused educator, with a passion for diversity and inclusion.” — Megan Morgan, Library Media Specialist at Ogden Elementary.
“Jim’s worked hard to bring in external funding to be able to expand anything that they can do within the community to help the kids and families. He’s been a great advocate, not just for education, but for the entire community and helping it move forward.” — USD 383 Superintendent Dr. Marvin Wade
“He’s someone who demonstrates that he’s willing to give people a chance, no matter what the circumstances are.” — USD 383 school board member Katrina Lewison
“He’s a champion for our community and I’m really honored to be able to have worked with him for the last decade,” — USD 383 Director of Elementary Education Lucas Shivers
“Even coming in with eight years of experience. once I had the opportunity to teach under him I feel like he really focuses on building relationships and making decisions that are best for kids. Truly, in education those are the two most important things we can do.” — Erica Bammes, Lee Elementary Principal
The post Retiring Ogden principal reflects on nearly four decade career in education appeared first on News Radio KMAN.
