Austin ISD announced Monday that longtime assistant principal Andy Baxa will assume the role of permanent principal at McCallum, beginning next school year. Baxa is replacing Nicole Griffith, who departed Mac to become the principal at Ann Richards School on July 1.
Stepping into the role of principal at Mac is not only a natural next step for Baxa’s career as a whole but also for his journey at McCallum. Baxa first came to Mac in 2003 as a student teacher to complete his teacher preparation program. When a teaching position opened up the following school year, Baxa filled it. He has been part of the McCallum community ever since.
“I’m just fortunate to have found a home,” Baxa said. “Every time I have had a decision to make, a door opened up for me here at McCallum that allowed me to continue my growth and my progress here at the school.”
Baxa has 20 years of experience at McCallum under his belt, including 12 as an administrator. He said his inside knowledge of the school, the faculty and the student body will help him “hit the ground running” when the school year begins.
“I know enough of the school culture to build and navigate and to be able to start from day one to make some changes,” Baxa said. “But I don’t want to change McCallum. McCallum is awesome. McCallum is amazing. I love McCallum; I just want to help it be the best for all students.”
Although the new role presents many unknowns, Baxa feels confident he has the skills to be a good principal.
“You don’t always have to know exactly the answer right from the beginning,” Baxa said. “It’s OK through a process to get to the right answer as long as you have your goal in mind. Our goal is always to do what’s best for our students. To do what’s best to get them through high school and to get them set up to be successful in life.”
Baxa intends to achieve this goal by increasing attendance rates at McCallum, strengthening partnerships with the McCallum community and hearing directly from the student body, something he hopes his new position will allow him time to do.
“One of the biggest things I want to try to do this year is I want to only listen to [the students],” Baxa said. “As an AP, you don’t really have time to sit down and listen to people a lot of times because new things pop up every single moment. As a principal, I’m hoping to have a little bit more time to have more of a macro view of the school.”
Another item on Baxa’s to-do list is building a new rapport with students and faculty as principal. He recognizes that the way the school views him is closely tied to his former role as an AP. Now, he hopes McCallum will be able to get to know him on a different level.
“One thing I’m gonna need to change is the impression some students have of me as the disciplinarian,” Baxa said. “That will be fun for me to kind of remove that part. [I’ll be able to show] more whole aspects myself rather than just that one aspect for some students. But you do what you got to do sometimes.”
Some current and former students responded negatively to MacJ’s social media coverage of Baxa’s appointment because of their encounters with assistant principal Baxa in his role as “disciplinarian.” Other students and community stakeholders responded with enthusiasm to the news.
Former English teacher Diana Adamson was among those who expressed enthusiastic support for Baxa’s appointment. One reason is his extensive experience and knowledge of the school.
“My first thought was that Baxa would be great for the job and, because he has been at Mac for such a long time, he would come in and allow for a sense of continuity,” Adamson said.
Heather Dorris, who graduated from McCallum in 2010, remembers her interactions with Baxa before he became an administrator. While Dorris knew Baxa as her junior year economics teacher, she was more familiar with him as “Coach Baxa” from her time on the swim team, which he coached.
“During that short time, he made a big impression,” Dorris said. “He was just this kindhearted person who always had an open door. He always provided realistic scenarios and gave realistic advice. There was no sugarcoating things with Coach Baxa.”
Dorris feels that the qualities she noticed in “Coach Baxa” will aid him in his new role.
“I think that because he makes his presence known in the hallways, he’s aware of what is going on within the school and can see what changes can or need to be made,” Dorris said. “It also allows students to know that he is approachable.”
Like Adamson, Dorris feels that Baxa’s long tenure at Mac will allow him to be a stabilizing presence.
“Baxa has been a part of Mac for such a long time,” Dorris said. “I hope the students give him all the respect he deserves. He has interacted with the students and the staff for many years; it won’t be like a newcomer coming into the Mac environment and trying to establish a relationship with everyone.”
In a MacJ Instagram comment, Amanda Soisson, whose two sons graduated from McCallum, expressed the sentiment of many community members.
“I love that someone who is already part of MAC will be the principal,” Soisson wrote. “This makes so much sense.”
Adamson, who taught at McCallum for over two decades before retiring in May of this year, feels that this element of Baxa’s history will be beneficial to McCallum. She noted that Baxa is the fourth principal since Mike Garrison retired in the spring of 2019.
“While we have had great principals between Garrison and Baxa, and COVID happening in that time period as well, I think it has been difficult for the students and the staff to get back on their feet because there has been so much change,” Adamson said. “Mr. Baxa knows the kids, the teachers, and the community. He understands McCallum from an insider’s perspective, and this is going to be really important for Mac.”
Baxa said he is also grateful to be able to be able to stay at Mac.
“I had pretty much come to the realization I was going to have to leave McCallum to get a principal’s job,” Baxa said. “I am extremely excited and just happy that I don’t have to make that choice, that I don’t have to look to leave McCallum. Because, honestly, I love McCallum.”
In order to stay at Mac, however, Baxa did have to adjust his career plan. He had hoped to finish out the next school year at McCallum and then begin the search for a principal position. The timing of Griffith’s exit created an opportunity for him to take the next step in his educational career right at McCallum.
“[When Griffith announced her departure], I knew immediately that I wanted to apply for this position,” Baxa said.
Baxa had been planning to see his children through their school days before moving into a principal role.
“I didn’t want to be a principal and have to miss my children’s events for my school’s events,” Baxa said. “My youngest is a senior this year. I had one more year and then, next year, I was probably going to start looking [for a principal job] anyways. So when Ms. Griffith got the job at Ann Richards, I was kind of like, ‘It’s a year earlier than I expected.’ But I’d kick myself if I didn’t take this opportunity now. … My mindset from the beginning was that this is my school. This was my principal’s job to lose.”
Baxa admires what he calls “a culture of kindness and acceptance” at McCallum since he first started his educational career in 2003.
“McCallum is special,” Baxa said. “The students are unique. You’re not gonna find a student body like we have at McCallum anywhere. You’re not going to find a faculty that loves this school and this community as much as you’re going to find at McCallum. Typically, our faculty gets to McCallum and they don’t leave. That speaks volumes, again, to the community and to the students of the school. Because if the students weren’t so great, and the community wasn’t so supportive, teachers wouldn’t stick around at McCallum for as long as they have.”
As much as Baxa has been a staple at McCallum, it has also been a constant in his life. According to Baxa, it will continue to be, even as he transitions into his new role.
“I could see retiring from McCallum,” Baxa said. “I don’t have plans to go anywhere, anytime soon.”
