Principal John McCabe’s road to success in education

Principal John McCabe was on a week-long trip with hoards of eighth-grade students when he began his career in Parkway. Then, while driving in the burning heat of May 2019, his wife called to let him know that the principal position for Fern Ridge, an alternative learning experience for Parkway high schoolers, had opened.

McCabe, an assistant principal in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District, spent the next week preparing his application and became principal of the Fern Ridge High school choice program after over 12 years of working in education. 

“[At] the Alternative Building at Maplewood Richmond Heights, I was working with unique supports for students struggling in regular high school. Working through difficult times with students has taught me so much about things our students are dealing with now: breakups, low grades and stress at home or school. I’m able to relate with and understand them more because you never really know individuals until they let you in and trust you,” McCabe said. 

Then, when former principal Jeremy Mitchell announced his retirement in July 2021, McCabe decided to apply for the position. This only began his six-step journey toward earning the job. 

“When you work in schools, anytime you’re going to leave one place to go to another, you are super excited about the potential for new opportunities — new relationships, friendships and problems that you’ll face. [When] the West job opened, it was a dream [of] where I saw myself for the next 10 years. I always admired Parkway [as] the bar for excellence in my mind,” McCabe said. “But anytime you move, you have to leave somewhere else. Change is not an easy thing. You set a high bar for yourself — are you going to achieve that and be the best for all those new people you’re going to serve?”

After the principal position posting remained open for two weeks, the district began hosting focus groups, student surveys and panel interviews for qualified applicants. Based on feedback from students, parents and teachers, McCabe was selected and recommended to the Board of Education. The School Board ultimately bases their approval on what they think parents, students and teachers would want.

“When we’re making decisions, no matter what topic it’s about, we think about the perspective of all of our stakeholders. We think about what the public would be concerned about. We look for someone engaging, outgoing [and] that isn’t afraid to lay down on the floor and play with a kindergartener,” Board of Education Director Jeff Todd said. 

For his part, McCabe believes that reaching out and helping others is essential to his role not only as West’s next principal but as a father. 

“I have a three-year-old and a three-month-old. I hope Molly, who’s my older, is kind. If I’m walking down the hall and see somebody dropping something, I’ll help pick it up. Little things go so far to help other people have a good day. Kindness as such an essential quality especially right now where there’s so many differing opinions and ideas in the world that seem to cause conflict,” McCabe said. 

McCabe hopes to continue creating connections with students and setting high standards.

“I realized I am now a person that students are going to look to help support them. Watching students reach high levels of success and being able to celebrate them while [also being] someone that students can come to when they feel like there’s nowhere to go is a role that I take seriously. We’re going to work together to figure out how we can get you back to a place where you’re feeling good. You’re not alone in this,” McCabe said.