On April 12, the Revere High School (RHS) student body received an email from principal Dr. Andy Peltz entitled “Thank You.” In the email, Peltz wrote three paragraphs explaining that at the end of this school year, his third at RHS, he would be leaving to become a superintendent in another district. Although Peltz was saying goodbye, he still ensured his students that he would finish out the school year strong and would always remember his time as a Minuteman. This enthusiastic attitude is what Peltz has shown throughout his entire three years at RHS.
Peltz has been principal at RHS since the 2021-2022 school year and began many events to heighten school spirit. Next school year Peltz will become the superintendent of Wellington Exempted Village Schools, and current RHS associate principal Doug Faris will take over for Peltz as principal of RHS.
Peltz has worked in education for 25 years; he started as a high school science teacher, which was his goal since he was a middle school student. But, he stated that after working for a few years, his coworkers and administrators told him that they thought he would make a good principal.
“When people asked, ‘What do I want to be when I grow up,’ I [said I] wanted to be a science teacher. I knew about seventh grade, that’s what I really wanted to be, and then after teaching for four or five years, all of a sudden teachers and principals would [say] ‘I think you’d be a really good principal’,” Peltz said.
After being in the classroom for twelve years, Peltz got his first administrative job. After working as an administrator for thirteen years, he explained that the same pattern happened, and coworkers started to tell him he would make a good superintendent.
“I became a principal. I’m like, ‘Cool this is what I’m meant to be. I really, really like it.’ And then after about five, six, seven years people were like, ‘I think you’d be a really good superintendent.’ So I went and got my superintendent license,” Peltz said.
Peltz’s plan was not to work his way all the way up to superintendent; he explained that the process was very natural and mentors he encountered when in the classroom and as a principal told him to go pursue the superintendent route.
“It organically happened. . . . It’s one of those things where I’ve enjoyed every step along the way,” he said.
Peltz began his journey as a teacher at North Royalton High School and then got his first administrative position in New London. Peltz explained what happened from there and how he was first introduced to the Revere School District through Revere Middle School (RMS).
“My first [assistant] principal job was in New London, it was a tiny district but it was seventy minutes from my house. And the superintendent at the time of Revere, Mr. Boroff, he was my superintendent when I worked at North Royalton. And he said that there was an assistant principal opening at Revere Middle School and he would like me to apply. So I applied and was able to come here in [2012-2013] . . . and I immediately fell in love with Revere as a district,” he said.
Although 2012-2013 was the first time Peltz had worked in the district, he explained that he also has memories from his childhood. He stated that he visited some of the spots that a typical RHS student might hang out at.
“Growing up in Independence, Revere was very close, so I would go to Country Maid, we’d go eat at Whitey’s, my mom worked at St. Victor’s. So I had a real familiarity with Richfield/Bath,” Peltz said.
After working at RMS, Peltz was offered a principal position at Troy Intermediate School in Akron Lake and worked there for eight years before coming back to Revere in 2021.
Peltz explained that working in the Revere district two different times has given him a unique perspective and has made his connections with people and families in the district even better. He was able to meet people his first time working in the district in the 2012-2013 school year and when he came back in 2021, Peltz was able to see them grow in their education and as people. He also explained that, as a superintendent, he is looking forward to making more of those sorts of connections. He is excited to get to see students progress through their entire education instead of just a four year period.
“What I’m excited about, being a superintendent, is that I get to be part of someone’s journey from pre-k all the way through graduation and getting to know the families and getting to see people grow and change,” he said.
As principal of RHS, Peltz has started many events and activities despite being here for only three years. RHS students look forward to events like Class Day and being invited to one of Peltz’s pancake breakfasts. Teacher and head of the social studies department Jeff Fry stated that Peltz helped keep school spirit high by creating opportunities for students to have fun.
“I will say that Dr. Peltz brought a ton of energy to Revere. . . . The energy kind of resonates throughout the building with students. . . . [He instituted] League of Leaders, which is supposed to unify the school with leadership from all different clubs and groups. I think he showed a lot of his energy, too, with the whole pancake breakfast, . . . trying to spotlight and highlight the achievements that kids have had,” Fry said.
Faris also mentioned the sort of energy that Peltz brings with him everywhere he goes.
“He [is] a genuine, good person with high energy; I had a hard time keeping up with him sometimes,” Faris said.
Faris named some of the aspects that Peltz added to RHS for students that he plans to keep when he takes over as principal.
“I think Class Day is here to stay. [I want to keep the] Passing of the Scroll [and] just some of the week to week transitions. I love the Friday music. . . . We’re going to keep [the] League of Leaders,” Faris said.
Faris explained that Peltz not only made RHS a fun place for the students, but he also worked to improve the way the staff functioned.
“He helped unite our staff. Our staff was a little divided on some things . . . and he really helped bring everything together. . . . He streamlined a lot of things and helped make those processes more unified and a little simpler in a sense,” Faris said.
Peltz explained that he was proud of the school spirit and unity he brought to RHS.
“Revere High School was never broken, but I feel like I just made it hum at a slightly better frequency. I was able to take really good things that were already happening and just bring a human element and a school spirit element and a passion element that was surprisingly contagious,” Peltz said.
Faris also explained that Peltz worked to help transition eighth graders into high school. Peltz and Faris created the Passing of the Scroll ceremony as a way for the incoming freshmen to feel welcomed, but Peltz also worked with the staff to make the curriculum transition smoother for incoming students. He made it so that middle and high school teachers could get together and talk about the curriculum. He wanted to make it known to the middle school teachers what they needed to do to prepare their students for high school and also make it known to the high school teachers what their students needed.
Although Faris and Peltz are coworkers, Faris explained that he gained a friend out of working with Peltz. He stated that they both have plans to stay in touch, even working in different school districts.
“Not only did Revere get a really good principal, but I benefited because I got a really good friend. Dr. Peltz [and I] have become really close. Just not only as people working together but kind of learning about our families and our interests. He is honestly just such a good person first. . . . I’m going to miss him terribly, but we’re going to definitely stay in contact,” he said.
Although Faris is going to miss Peltz, he said that he is eager to become principal. Faris stated that, although there may be minor things to fix, he does not currently have any major changes he plans to make.
“I’m super excited. Everything happens for a reason in life, and I believe that. I think Peltz coming here was exactly what the building needed at the time and the work he’s put in, that we’ve put in together, that our staff has put in, I think it is just set up perfectly for me to keep doing that good work,” he said.
Becoming principal of a school could be nerve-racking for some, but Faris said that with his experience as associate principal for seven years, the transition will go smoothly.
“It’s comforting knowing that I know the . . . staff. It is comforting I have a lot of people I can rely on and talk things through with,” Faris said.
Fry stated that Faris’ time as associate principal and the work he has done with Peltz has prepared him for his new job.
“I think [Peltz] utilized Mr. Faris in a pretty big way . . . which I think will be great for Mr. Faris going forward as our principal starting now and going into next year,” Fry said.
Along with Faris’ excitement for next school year, he said that he is also happy for Peltz and wishes him luck in his new job.
“I want everyone to know how genuinely happy [I am] for Dr. Peltz. It’s such a cool opportunity for him. He and I had talked about this day coming, when he would probably go somewhere else and I would have the chance to maybe take over, so it’s all fallen into place perfectly,” Faris said.
Peltz explained that he will also miss his time as a principal. He explained one of the best parts of the job.
“What I love about being a principal is that every day when I would start getting bogged down by the stuff of running a building of 900 plus students, I could just get out and be with the kids. . . . I started off always wanting to be a teacher so I could just be part of it. And the pride that people have for being a Revere Minuteman is just awesome, so I felt lucky to be part of it,” Peltz said.
Although Peltz is leaving a high school to run a whole district, Wellington Exempted Village Schools is fairly small. He said that this will help him be able to adapt quickly to his new job.
“Revere High School is larger than the district I’m going to. So Revere has roughly 940 students and 65 teachers, 120 staff members. I’m going to a district with 905 kids, and there’s 55 teachers. So when I got to visit Wellington and I’m walking around the three buildings [and] it felt very similar to me, with the amount of people. It’s just that sometimes I was walking around with a five year old and other times an eighteen year old,” Peltz said.
Currently, Peltz does not have any specific plans for when he gets to Wellington. He said that he wants to get a feel for how the district works and just try to make things better.
“What my vision is, I always want to make wherever I’m at slightly better, so I don’t know what they need yet until I get to live it and sort of bring my field there. Who knows? I’ve never stopped growing and changing so maybe after being a superintendent for five to seven years someone comes up and says ‘Andy, you’d be really good at this,’ so who knows what will happen?” Peltz said.
After three years at RHS, Peltz has created events as big as Class Day and customs as small as playing music over the PA system. When students come back to RHS in August, Peltz will be gone, but his spirit and energy will live on through the events he started and incoming Principal Faris.
