It is never a happy moment watching a loved family member leave, especially when he is the happiest, luckiest, and most fortunate family member you have. With Kevin Welsh retiring after 40 years on education, it is hard to imagine the spirit of the school remaining the same without a principal who dyes his mustache green on St. Patrick’s Day and does turkey impersonations on Thanksgiving.
Although Welsh is the principal, no one can help but think of a red-haired man constantly jumping from one place to another, cracking jokes. His eccentric personality and unconventional approach is why, according to senior Azadouhi Kalaydjian, “everyone loves him and is willing to listen to him.”
Before Welsh became involved in the educational field, he experimented with theater and stand-up comedy. During that time, he was going to enroll in law school, but after the heartbreaking loss of a close friend due to a car accident, his life “turned upside down.”
Going through a very difficult time after his friend’s death, Welsh engaged himself in volunteering at schools, finding himself feeling very satisfied and enthusiastic when working with students.
“Somewhere, somehow I fell in love with what I was doing,” Welsh said. “I don’t know what the reason is, but I really felt I connected well with the students. They listened to me and I listened to them.”
In 1971, Welsh got his teaching credential and was hired by the GUSD. One of his main goals, from his experience volunteering, was to help students educationally and have them grow socially.
Welsh embarked on his career as a social studies, English, and drama teacher at Rosemont Middle School. Then, Welsh was hired as a counselor at Wilson Middle School until he was transferred to Glendale High.
In 1982, Welsh made his final move to Hoover when he was hired as the dean of students by former Principal Don Duncan, who admired his high level of energy, good communication skills and “dynamic personality.”
Welsh learned from Duncan, whom he refers to as a “maverick” for his creative approach to the job, how to always be a great listener. He feels he learned how to handle different situations and “rise above” the adversity.
“He has definitely left his mark on the school,” Duncan said. “Students and faculty love him and he has an admirable ability to work with students.”
Senior Administrative Secretary Celia Monterrubio has been at the school for 30 years, and was also a secretary to Duncan, said that Welsh “genuinely cares for the well being of everyone–students, faculty and the community.”
Welsh became a principal in 1997 when the superintendent at the time, Jim Brown, decided there should be co-principals in high schools. In 2004, Welsh took sole responsibility as principal.
According to Welsh, being a principal is a “profound, challenging, rewarding, and tremendously exciting” career. As principal, he has grown to be familiar with change as he deals with new students, parents, and the district each year.
But it has been far from easy. As most people can tell from his playful attitude and his entertaining phone calls home, Welsh finds himself to be a very “goofy person.” Welsh believes that when he first became principal, he had an “immature view” of authority, but over time he grew to understand that his level of authority meant more than just ordering people around.
“I learned over time that the more I gave to the school and my duties as principal, the more authority I had,” Welsh said.
Welsh feels a moral obligation to make sure that he is giving the students and school his best. He always took hands-on action, interacting with teachers and visiting classrooms at least once a week so that the teachers understood he was not there to intimidate them but help them meet state standards.
If a teacher was doing particularly well, he would ask them to share his or her effective teaching techniques with him. With Welsh, it was not just about demanding effective work to be done, but involving himself in every way to make sure the school was on the right path.
According to Ara Mgrdichian, Violence Prevention Specialist and Co-Director of the student resource center, Welsh has made himself extremely available to the school.
“He is constantly doing something to better the school educationally and socially,” Mgrdichian said. “His leaving does feel like a great loss, but his contributions are lasting.”
During his early years as principal, Welsh was under a great deal of pressure because of the constant scrutiny from parents, teachers, administrators, the district, and students.
At the time, the safety of the school’s environment was in great question after two gang-related deaths of the school’s students.
Perhaps his greatest achievement as principal is regaining the school’s good reputation and creating a healthy learning environment for his students.
He reassured parents and children that attend Mark Keppel and Balboa Elementary school of the good educational environment on campus.
Welsh made himself very accessible, giving his number to everyone involved in the school so they could reach him at all times. During the lockdown in 2007, he received more than 200 text messages from anxious and terrified students.
The lockdown was a very memorable experience for him because although it was a false alarm, it helped the school better its communication system and prepare for future situations.
“I will never forget the moment when I went outside after I heard someone screaming ‘he is going to kill me’ and the SWAT team made me go down on the floor in my suit,” Welsh said.
Dr. Jennifer Earl, who will be taking Welsh’s place as principal, admires Welsh for putting the school in a good light by communicating with parents and involving the school in community activities, something she hopes to continue.
Amongst Welsh’s more pleasant memories is the school’s 75th alumni gathering, which took place on the football field. The event was a fusion of the school’s past and present which served as a flashback for Welsh when he saw his former students. He loved seeing the school so united as old memories meshed with the new.
Business teacher Joeann Scott who has been part of the school for 31 years admires Welsh’s charismatic yet professional character including memories of him throwing pies at students while also being hit, always dressing up for holidays with the administration, and participating in volleyball matches against students. He even sat in a dunk tank where students tried hitting the target to have him fall in the water.
“He participates in so many activities to be part of the students and so the students can be part of him,” Scott said. “I don’t know any other administrator who would go beyond his limits for the well-being of his students.”
Although many were surprised to hear of Welsh’s retirement, he had originally planned to retire in 2007. However since his twin boys, Joe and Casey, were graduating, he did not want to take the attention away from them.
Welsh is “at peace” and excited with his retirement. When he made the decision to officially retire a year ago, he heard a “voice” in his head that told him it was time. Welsh plans on going back to stand-up comedy and theater.
Welsh has “tremendous confidence” and feels very proud of Earl becoming principal.
“Mr. Welsh has very big shoes to fill,” Earl said.“I can never fill them but I will be working very hard to maintain and build on the strong foundation that he has created for this school.”
Although Welsh will be visiting the campus during events, coaching and consulting principals at other schools, he will not come to “check up” on the school because he believes he needs to give the new administration time and room to grow. He strongly believes that the school is ready for “a new leadership.”
Welsh will be getting a Facebook account in order to keep in touch with students and the school spirit.
“He will be greatly missed by everyone but his retirement came at a good time because he can spend more time with his new granddaughter,” Monterrubio said.
Welsh has experienced his share of “joys, triumphs, and tragedies” as principal. He has seen the school excel on test scores, enter in CIF Tennis championships, beat GHS during BGD, and has even witnessed student deaths.
“You just have to love the job and give yourself over to it,” Welsh said. “It’s not an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., clock in and clock out kind of deal. You have to think of it as an adventure and take the good with the bad.”
