Adam Skyles has spent the last 16 years in the McDaniel building. From coach to teacher to administrator, he has seen the school evolve from the Madison days through COVID and the remodel to what it is now. In an exclusive interview, Skyles sat down with four Oracle editors to discuss his departure.
Note: Interview edited for clarity and brevity.
Q.Can you explain in more detail what has pushed you to leave your role at McDaniel?
A.I would say this isn’t something that I came to lightly. It’s also not something that I have planned. I had truly planned on five more years and then an exit. I’ve been planning that for the last eight.
An opportunity presented itself to me, and it’s something that I either do right now, or it won’t be there in the future. And there are other lifelong factors involved in my decision-making around this. And there’s things that I always knew that I knew what my exit I wanted it to look like. I just thought it would be five years from now.
I can guarantee this—I’m not leaving for another school. I have no desire to be a principal at any other place besides McDaniel. I’ve always kind of known that I wouldn’t land in a district office either. I think that that’s great work that people do, and I value it. And I think that those people are amazing. It’s a hard job, but I don’t think that was ever going to be my path. And so I knew my path would leave education at some point.
Q. What was going through your head when you made the decision to step down from being principal for the next school year?
A.Imagine having your whole life laid out, well, that in my whole life, but like the last 25 years of your life all laid out in front of you. And you’re trying to figure out, OK, you’ve done all of this, this is amazing, do you continue, or do you go try something different? And there’s this risk involved in it, but there’s also a potential to do something that I’ve never done.
Q.You said you just heard about this opportunity, like in the last few weeks?
A.The opportunity presented itself as kind of a ‘I have to give up on this for the rest of my life, or I have to do it now.’ It’s been something I’ve planned on again. I just thought I’d be able to control it for another five years. You can’t always control things, and other people’s decisions influence that. If you’d have asked me two months ago, it’s not something that I was planning or even thinking about.
Q.What words do you have for those disappointed in seeing you leave?
A.I think that means that I did a decent job, but I also think change and transition happen in life. And while it’s difficult and I’m going to miss them, I’m still going to be around. People are still going to see me. I’m still going to come to sporting events, and I’m still going to get a visitor’s badge and walk the hallways.
Skyles plans on sharing where he is going to end up with individuals personally, but not in writing. He also said that any questions should be directed towards Skyles’ direct supervisor, Christyn McCloskey, who will also “share additional information about community outreach and the process for filling the position.”
Meetings for students and staff to discuss who the next principal may be were held on Monday, May 11.
For a more in depth story check out:Principal leaves school to pursue opportunity outside education
