It is one thing for school administrators to be recognized by their peers for their quality of excellence. It is something else entirely when students recognize that same excellence. Fulton Middle School Principal Beth Houf has earned both of those distinctions.
At a recent banquet at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, Houf was named by her peers as the 2016 Missouri Distinguished Principal by the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals (MAESP), but it was the reception by her students upon returning to FMS on Tuesday that touched her heart.
"The kids were playing music and giving me high-fives when I came in," said Houf of the party her staff and students threw for her. "It was amazing to see them mirroring for me the things I've tried to do for them, to get them excited about school."
Houf is notorious for the way she and her faculty greet students every morning, sometimes wearing funny hats, sometimes dressing up as she did on St. Patrick's Day.
Students always get a welcoming high-five as they enter.
"I can get a good sense of how the kids are doing each day by being out there first thing when they get to school," said Houf.
But what makes her seem a bit out of the ordinary to some parents and peers, endears Houf to her students. She said she does it to let kids know it's OK to be different from the crowd.
"Middle school is such a hard time for kids," said Houf. "I want them to know that being different is something we can embrace and celebrate."
Houf said she was one of those "not-traditional" students, and being different made her painfully shy. She said the support of her family and teachers got her through the hard years.
Houf has been a teacher and administrator with Fulton Public Schools since 2002. She became a principal when she took on the position at McIntire Elementary in 2008, which was considered a "failing" school at the time. Her leadership skills helped get the school back on track. McIntire has since been recognized as both a Missouri Exemplary PLC School and an award-winning PBIS school.
"Beth's approach has always been that every child can be successful," wrote superintendent Jacque Cowherd. "Therefore, she met the challenge of ensuring faculty members were provided with, and trained on, essential tools for student success."
One of Houf's mentors, Bob Hogan, a past principal at McIntire, received the same award in 1999. She credits much of her guidance and inspiration to him.
"I am the sum of the parts that made me," said Houf, as she spoke of Hogan's influence and his willingness to unofficially work with her for six months before she took the reins at the school. "I am blessed with amazing mentors."
Houf also credits the support of her husband, Todd, and her two sons, Paul and Dawson, for keeping her going under the pressures of being a school administrator. She also praises her faculty and staff and the community at large.
"One person can't do it," she said of the progress that has been made at both McIntire and FMS. "It takes everyone in the district and in the community. It starts with relationships. It's the entire culture that matters and the willingness to take risks to do great things."
Houf accepted the role of principal at FMS in 2015 and implemented her vision for teacher leaders there as well, but she has been instrumental in guiding educators across the state for years.
In 2006, Houf was selected to be a part of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Select Teachers as Regional Resources (STARR) program, through which she spent a year leading professional development at more than 40 schools throughout the region.
She is involved in the Principal Leadership Network, where she interacts with educators across the country and is co-authoring the book, "Lead Like a PIRATE," with colleague Shelley Burgess. Houf is also part of a social media Cross-Country Read Aloud program students can access online.
"She is one of those people who lights up a room," said Jay Billy, principal at Slackwood Elementary in New Jersey, who met Houf at a convention in 2014 and continues to collaborate with her long-distance. "You can see how the kids relate to her when images come across social media."
Though Houf is well versed in the data of academics, what is most important to her is creating the kind of environment where students want to be.
"Kids have to want to be here before they can learn," she said.
Houf will be recognized along with more than 50 other elementary and middle school principals at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in October.