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News
Exceeded Excellence
Three teachers are leaving BV West at the end of this year
Lucy Call
reporter
Kolbie Christensen
editor-in-chief
P BV hot Ar W os ch es fro iv t Y m e ea th rb e oo k
I
s it possible to live up to a goal of exceeding excellence? This school year may have been an anomaly, but what hasn’t changed is the dedication of the staff. As the school year comes to a close, we learn that some of BV West’s beloved staff members will be moving on in the coming year. What has it been like for them personally? Three individual teachers f r o m d i ff e r e n t areas of the school have one thing in common: this will be their last year teaching at BV West. But, how has the journey been? What’s important to remember as they move on, and what will be their legacy? T h e Spotlight a s k e d about their ex p e r i e n c e s to get the best insight on what it’s like to teach at one school so long and what it’s like to move on. Dr. Brett Potts has been the principal of Blue Valley West since 2013. After 15 years of teaching, Potts knew it was time to move up to administration. So when
the position at BV West opened up, he applied. Being in the center of things for nearly eight years has taught him a lot about life and leadership, similar to how he has taught the BV West family. He lives by his famous cornerstones: family, pride, grit, and excellence. “We went through a process eight years ago, as I entered as the principal, we just wanted to take a step back and say, what do we stand for here at West and we got input and feedback from our staff and from students and parents, and we created a list of values and collective commitments, as well as we created a vision for the school,” Potts said. Potts adds that the impact the cornerstones have throughout the community has surprised him. Even students and staff who didn’t attend BV West have a grasp on them which he is increasingly proud of. As Potts gets ready to depart BV West he hopes that the cornerstones he helped to create are here to stay at the school, forever cementing his legacy. “My hope is that they remain here as part of the development of students, but I’m hoping that you and all of your classmates take them with you when you leave, and they’re always a part of you. That would really make me happy,” Potts said. One of the biggest challenges that Potts faced was an unexpected challenge. Taking care of all the students is a big task and something that he didn’t feel the weight of
