Fulton Middle School's Houf named Principal of the Year

Fulton Middle School Principal Beth Houf has recently been named Principal of the Year by Education Dive. The recognition from the education-centered publication left Houf "shocked, humbled and honored" after hearing about it Monday.
Fulton Middle School Principal Beth Houf has recently been named Principal of the Year by Education Dive. The recognition from the education-centered publication left Houf "shocked, humbled and honored" after hearing about it Monday.

Fulton Middle School's principal Beth Houf has recently been named Principal of the Year by Education Dive.

The recognition from the education-centered publication left Houf "shocked, humbled and honored" after hearing about it Monday. Houf was told about the honor by her friend and fellow Education Dive honoree Joe Sanfelippo, superintendent of the Fall Creek School District in Wisconsin, before being officially notified.

"I had really forgotten about the whole thing after (Education Dive) reached out and said they were considering me," Houf said. "Yesterday morning, while I was at a conference in St. Louis, (Sanfelippo) actually texted me and said, 'Congratulations,' and I was a little surprised by that."

Houf has worked in the Fulton Public Schools district since 2002 when she began as a fourth-grade teacher at Bartley Elementary School. She became the principal of McIntire Elementary School in 2008 and worked there until 2015 when she became principal of FMS.

In 2014, Houf was actually considering leaving education after becoming "disillusioned" with many of the things her administrative role entailed. She said, as a teacher, she felt she was able to be herself yet struggled to coincide her identity with her new role as principal for the first couple of years in the role.

"(As a principal), you can't have the same kind of relationship with all of the teachers that I was used to, and for me, that loneliness was something that I struggled with" she said.

In the summer of 2014, though, she attended a conference that changed her outlook on the way she could conduct herself as a principal. After connecting with other principals on social media and reading the book "Teach Like a Pirate" by Dave Burgess, Houf began to reimplement her identity back into her profession.

"This helped me realize, 'Wow, I used to teach so authentically,' but when I became a leader, I thought I had to be like all of the other principals around," Houf said.

This time period inspired her to co-author the book "Lead Like a Pirate" with Shelley Burgess as she transitioned into her role at FMS. Writing a book is something Houf said she never anticipated doing.

"Being an author was never on my bucket list," Houf said. "(Writing this book) brought things to a whole different level in terms of being invited to speak places and even giving me a voice that's sometimes on the national level."

Houf said she finds herself changing "daily" as a principal and as a leader because she is rarely ever satisfied and has a consistent drive to continue learning. She said this recognition will push her to continue advocating for equity for all children.

"With equity it means equal for all, and all means all. How can we make sure that all of our students are able to 'live their best life' as the kids say all the time," Houf said.

She describes her ideal culture at FMS as one that is overall positive but also one where it is "OK to be uncomfortable." She believes it's necessary to push past comfort levels in order to "arrive to greatness."

Outside of Houf's office hang signs of positivity and affirmation such as "your future is bright" and "you are brilliant."

"(Each) Tuesday (at FMS) is 'positive sign Tuesday' and its just something to show our students, 'Hey, you are valued,'" Houf said.