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Principal gives back by returning home

The youngest public school principal in Pinellas County is excited about the opportunity to return to his old high school.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published August 1, 2006

CLEARWATER - Ambling down the concrete walkway of Clearwater High School, Keith Mastorides can't fathom why anyone wouldn't want to return to teach at their high school if given the chance.

"Doesn't everyone want to go back to their high school to teach?" Mastorides asked a pair of visitors walking with him around school grounds last week.

"No," the two grumbled.

"Really?" he retorted in wonder.

It was the earnest response of a man fueled by a desire to give back to a school and community that raised him.

Mastorides is the new principal of Clearwater High. The former principal, Nick Grasso, has been pegged to oversee athletics, physical education and driver education for the Pinellas County School District.

Mastorides graduated from Clearwater High School in 1987 and has lived in the community most of his life.

"I grew up here, and it was a great experience," he said. "I think somehow I always wanted to come back to it."

Before his most recent promotion, Mastorides worked as assistant principal at Palm Harbor University High School for eight years.

Not only did he learn the mechanics of running a school, including scheduling and curriculum, but he also learned ways to make valuable connections with students, he said.

"He was very student-centered," said former Palm Harbor University High School principal Alec Liem, who is now director of school operations for Area 1 of the district. He is "always very involved and engaged."

At Palm Harbor University High, Mastorides mentored the student government association, as well as the drama club - even making appearances in student productions.

"It's so important that you bond and get to know the kids," Mastorides said from his new office on Monday. "That's what made the opportunity to come back here so important, because I'm already invested in the community."

With his dark hair tapered on the sides and a dimple in his chin, Mastorides could almost be mistaken for a student - that is, if he lost the suit and tie.

At 38, he is the youngest principal of a public high school in Pinellas County. And traditions such as graduations on the school football field and the Tornado Tails acting troupe remain vivid memories for him.

Community members say his close connection to the school will be an invaluable tool in leadership.

Born in Ohio, Mastorides moved to Clearwater when he was 5. The son of two educators - his father taught industrial arts at Pinellas Park High School and his mother taught at Ponce De Leon Elementary School in Largo - Mastorides attended Sandy Lane and Kings Highway elementary schools and John F. Kennedy Middle School before going on to Clearwater High.

After earning his bachelor's degree, with a specialty in specific learning disabilities, at the University of South Florida, Mastorides went on to earn a master's degree in education leadership from the school.

Regarding Mastorides' local ties, John Tsacrios, president of the Clearwater High School Alumni Association, said: "It helps you better know your community and the people who are around there."

"And I know you feel more of an obligation to be there for the school," said Tsacrios, who taught at the school for 33 years.

With more than 2,000 students and 100 faculty to oversee, Mastorides is facing a school different from the one he leaves.

Palm Harbor University High is one of the county's newest and highest-performing schools.

But at almost 100 years old, Clearwater High School is among the oldest schools and continues to grapple with issues such as the achievement gap.

Mastorides seems undaunted by the change. He's quick to point to his experience teaching special-needs students at Dunedin Highlands and Tarpon middle schools in the early 1990s.

"I'd learned all I could at Palm Harbor," he said. "I'd learned how to run a school and I was ready for the next step."

And then there are the challenges facing Mastorides outside the school walls. A better relationship with area businesses and the need for a new school building are among the things community members say the school should focus on in the future.

A new Clearwater High School building is currently not included in the district's building plan.

"Clearwater High has been here for 100 years. If we're going to continue to build, it's going to happen by having deep community ties," he said.

Still, Matorides is careful not to tread on the history and customs already established in the school.

"I'm not here to put my stamp on Clearwater High," he said. "I'm just here to make it a great place and continue the tradition."

[Last modified July 31, 2006, 21:49:13]