EVERYDAY HEROES: Keys Elementary principal reflects on first year

Skyler Hammons |, Tahlequah Daily Press, Okla.
·3 min read

May 24—Keys Elementary Principal Jon Mages has reflected on his first year at Keys, and he plans to continue instilling a community feel to his work.

"My first year here at Keys has been lively and exciting," said Mages. "The staff and community were very helpful and welcoming, while the students, for the most part, were extremely dutiful and pleasant to interact with."

While this was Mages first time to be over the elementary, he is not a stranger to the area. He and his family have traveled to the area for lake activities and vacations for the past several years from Wellington, Kansas. Mages said during this time, he had told his family they should move to Cherokee County if the opportunity ever presented itself, and when it did, he jumped at it.

Mages has been in education for the last 23 years, with 11 years being a building principal. Mages was the executive director for Sumner County Educational Services, which is a special education interlocal that serves five public school districts in the county.

Mages thinks the most difficult part of his job is managing all the different personalities and philosophies when trying to reach a kid's full potential.

"I think we can all agree that teachers, parents, administration, and even most students, all have the same goal, which is to enable all children to learn and achieve their highest potential and be able to serve effectively as productive citizens," said Mages. "The struggle comes when the pathway to reach this goal gets intertwined with differing philosophies. Navigating those differences sometimes can be extremely difficult."

Mages doesn't think Keys has changed a whole lot since he started his job, other than the implementation of morning assemblies that help address character and social/emotional issues for those in kindergarten through sixth grade.

"Keys Elementary was doing a ton of things 'right,' so I didn't want to come in and 'fix' something that was not broken," said Mages.

Mages and the school also worked on trying to re-establish the school's Parent-Teacher Organization after it had become defunct during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The addition of morning assembly and the re-establishment of PTO has most teachers, staff, students and parents excited about moving back to a 'community feel' at Keys Elementary," said Mages. "I want this family/community feel to continue growing, along with finding ways to improve the educational experience and identify strategies and resources to increase student growth and achievement."

Mages does not feel as though the job has changed him, as he has always had the mindset of the students being first, whether as a teacher, principal, or coach. While Mages has not been changed by the job, he said this year has reminded him of the reward of seeing students learn and grow, as well as the blessing it can be to work closely with a "strong and supporting staff."

"I have to say that even after 23 years in education, the most rewarding part of my job is, and always will be, the students," said Mages. "Seeing a struggling student's 'light come on' and they say, 'I get it.' Or, walking into the cafeteria in the morning and hundreds of kiddos run up and give you hugs and say, 'Good morning, Mr. Mages.' Those are the things that keep my motor running every year."