Saying goodbye to a mentor

Sabrina Kooistra
Times Junior Reporter

 

For 45 years, Gary Reagan, retiring principal of Strathmore High School (SHS), has been touching the lives of students around Alberta as a beloved teacher, guidance counsellor, coach, and administrator.
Originally, Gary Reagan’s first career choice was not teaching, but his peers identified him as someone who was a natural teacher.
Even as an aspiring RCMP officer, he was passionate about English literature, so on the advice of his peers, Reagan enrolled in a University with the intention of becoming an educator. Reagan received a Professional Diploma and Bachelor of Education and began as an English literature teacher in various schools around the province.
Prior to the completion of his degree, he completed a practicum at a junior high school and realized that this particular age group was not his forte. The choice to teach high school students was somewhat of a more fitting role for him.
“It was just a natural fit to be working with kids who could understand, you could reason with, you can challenge intellectually … you have to relate to [teenagers] in a very different way on a very different level,” Reagan said.
As an enthusiastic and idea filled contributor to the founding of the current SHS building, Reagan was able to collaborate with colleagues on the architecture and future of the school. The unique design of the school is, in some ways, reflective of the many opportunities open to enrolled students.
“This school is an incredible place to work and an incredible place for kids and I think anybody who was in that planning process would say that it was an incredible opportunity and a great deal of satisfaction and joy, pride in the building because it’s awesome,” Reagan said.
He has been instrumental in nurturing SHS to what it is today: a place where students are enriched by superlative academic courses along with the vast opportunities available for students integrating into the demanding world of the trades. SHS also boasts its Advanced Placement (AP), Honours, and hockey program. Reagan has constantly been striving to find more and more ways to challenge and broaden his students’ scope. Growing up in a poorer farming family assisted him in understanding the true impact of hard work and having high expectations.
“Hard work and dedication … and not giving up, works … I’ve found over the years that kids really respond to that, like if you have high expectations of someone, it’s a sign of respect and it’s a belief in them.” Reagan said.
Over the course of his career, Reagan was able to make strong and diverse connections with kids beyond the student-teacher relationship. As a guidance counsellor, he was able to reach out to students who were in often treacherous financial or familial situations who simply needed an encouraging person to listen to them.
“My advice to kids is always, at the end of whatever, whether it’s Grade 12 or whether it’s when you are 45 or 96 and a half, you want to be able to look back and say, you know, I gave it my best, because I don’t think there’s anything worse than having to admit that where you’re at in life … that you didn’t give it your best, because you can’t go back and change that,” he said.
Reagan saw students who could have given up because of the tremendous burdens of their plight, but they were incredibly resilient and persevered through their challenges beyond what was expected.
“I really passionately believe that you have to put kids first and we have to make connections with kids,” he said. “All they need is one person to care about them, one person to believe in them or believe that they have potential and it sometimes is very magical … and so my advice to my colleagues is always caring about [students].”
As a coach for hockey, baseball, volleyball, and badminton, Reagan was able to get to know students in an entirely separate way.
“[It] is a whole different dimension from teaching; it was an opportunity to work with kids in a different context and environment,” said Reagan. In 1983, his volleyball team took the Provincial Champion title.
For Reagan, the career highs are many.
“Having kids who come into your class and they respond to your style and so they go from an average, mediocre student or somebody who was just going through the motions, [to] someone who just comes alive as a student and you see them taking pride in their work and they grow as an individual,” he said. “You know just watching that growth as they respond to your teaching style is such a rush. You can’t buy that anywhere.”
As a Grade 11 student at Strathmore High School, I have been able to get to know Mr. Reagan as the light-hearted, kind person that he is. He has touched many lives in every school he has been in and with every role he has taken, and I know that he will continue to do so even after his retirement.
We know that our school would not be the same without such a strong teacher, principal, colleague, and leader. His belief in his staff and students has been monumental.
Thank you Mr. Reagan, you truly will be missed.