‘What would Paul Niles do?’ Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School Director retires
EAST HARWICH — Around 8 a.m. on his final day at Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School, Paul Niles donned a yellow reflective vest and a green CCLCS baseball cap and served his last crossing-guard shift.
Don’t be mistaken — Niles isn’t just a crossing guard, but the newly retired director and a founding teacher of the school. Niles, who has spent almost 40 years in education, spent his last 27 at the charter school and is now hanging up, among other things, his rainbow lab coat.
“I have never felt like I’ve worked a day in my life,” Niles said of his time in both education and at the school. “Really, this has been a labor of love. And I’ve loved it for the whole time.”
Between standing on desks to teach science, jumping off a ladder to prove hypotheses and shoveling snow off the school’s roof, it’s clear that Niles made a mark on those who walked through the doors.
“I feel like he has mentored us all in how to be ‘pro-kid,’” sixth-grade teacher Kathryn Wilkinson said of Niles. “The way that he handles and talks to middle schoolers is,” she chimed in unison with fellow sixth grade teachers Brian Bates and Josh Stewart, “unique.”
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The Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School, which is in East Harwich, was established in 1995. It operates with about 240 students in grades six through eight.
Stewart, who began as a substitute teacher in the school's second year of existence, felt Niles' impact right away.
“I think that the thing that makes Paul special is that he's truly an advocate and ally for everyone in the school community, whether it's students, parents, teachers — he’s supportive of everyone in the building,” Stewart said.
Always the first in the building, the last to leave
While Niles began as a science teacher, his colleagues recall that whenever there was a need for a director, Niles would sacrifice his love of teaching to fill the role. His co-workers also remember him being the first in the building and the last one to leave.
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“When I'm questioning what I'm going to teach or how I'm going to interact with people, I think, ‘what would Paul Niles do?’” Bates laughs. “He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.”
But for Niles, it was never a question that he would put his all into making this school the best he believed it could be. Channeling grace, gratitude and generosity when in a position of power, Niles said, has been at the core of his technique as a leader.
“I feel like if you're going to be a leader, you have to lead by doing and just filling in whatever spaces need to be filled in. You know, I don't feel like cleaning the toilets is menial work. I feel like it's dignified work,” Niles said. “For me to step in and do stuff like that — to me, it's a beautiful way to serve.”
Emily Nowack, a school graduate and now-eighth grade civics teacher, has experienced the Niles effect most of her life. She attended preschool with his son and was Niles's student in eighth-grade science. Now, he's her boss.
Among other descriptors, Nowack used “even-keeled,” “level-headed,” and “compassionate” to explain how she’s learned from Niles.
“Paul has this presence that he brings into a room,” she said. “When he walks in, the mood in the room just becomes more fun. It's kind of just like a feeling that you get, and it's the same if you're a student, like in the classroom with him, or as a teacher walking into faculty meeting.”
Students will miss the "light he brings to our school," one sixth-grader said of Niles
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The “Niles timeline,” as his successor, Catherine O’Leary, described it, is something students and faculty alike feel fortunate to be a part of. And as sixth-grader Chloe Jugieau puts it, they’ll miss “the light he brings to our school. Because when he walks through a hallway or outside or anything, it’s just so joyful.”
From his well-known “legendary” snow-day reports and desire to constantly learn from his students, to his being “embedded,” as he calls it, in the Cape community, Niles has one memory that will stick with him the most.
“When parents drop their kids off in the morning, the way that kids bound out of the car. Like, they jump out of the car with enthusiasm and excitement, and the smiles on the parents’ faces to be leaving their kids at a great middle school,” Niles said with a smile himself.
“That's imprinted in my mind because that happens every day. There have been spectacular things that have happened to me, but just the daily joy is the most important thing.”
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: The longtime director of the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School retires
