Courtesy of Beth Plunkett

Former Principal Beth Plunkett poses with her memoir “Lessons That Endure: Reflections of a High School Principal.”

One day at West, former Principal Beth Plunkett was in an English classroom when she saw a fire start from a telephone line. It shimmied towards a nearby generator, which exploded into flames, sending the nearby construction worker on the roof flying in the air. Her heart skipped a beat, but before the panic had time to set in, she was running down the hall to pull the fire alarm. As hurried students rushed down the hallways out to the football field, smoke started to collect in the hallways, setting in a sense of hushed terror throughout the building. 

Once the students were all safe on the field, the unimaginable happened. Tornado sirens went off, and sure enough, the school was in the danger zone of a real tornado. Mayhem could have broken out on the field — where were the students supposed to go? But finding a solution, Plunkett called the middle school and relocated all students and staff to the middle school gyms. Plunkett believes that the only reason students and staff listened to her in this crisis was that she established the necessary respect and trust long before the crisis occurred. She learned this universal lesson for any leader that day, and this situation — along with many others — is written about in her memoir “Lessons That Endure: Reflections of a High School Principal.”

“I wrote the book because I learned so much as the head of a school. I learned it from so many different people, so I thought, ‘I want to share this,’” Plunkett said. “It shouldn’t matter whether you’re working with elementary, middle school or high school [kids], or even if [you’re working] in a private school, religiously affiliated school or a large public entity like West High, the lessons I hope I underscored are universal or should be.”

Plunkett taught as an English teacher for 20 years, then earned her master’s degree in Educational Administration at the University of Missouri: St. Louis in 1990. In 1992, she became the principal at Fern Ridge High School and then became the West High School principal in 1995. In 2010 she retired but continued to lead workshops for administration within the district. By receiving feedback and mentoring administration throughout the St. Louis area, Plunkett realized the lessons she had learned throughout her career were valuable. 

“As a mom, I learned the value of repetition. As people, if we know what to expect from the people with whom we’re working, whether that’s a mother to child or principal to teacher or principal to a student, the outcome is generally more predictable when we have a common or repetitive phrase we use to describe situations in life, so we worked on developing a common language around our mission and goals.” Plunkett said.

According to Douglas P. Thaman, the Executive Director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association, Plunkett’s memoir helps readers understand what it means to treat others with respect and how to do so.

“The authentic storytelling in this book is infused with compelling wisdom and purpose. It truly inspires leading with empathy and guiding a school leader’s work through the lens of what is best for students. This easy read will move you to not only think differently but motivate you to grow in an insightful and thoughtful way. Whether you work in or with a school, have kids in school or went to school, you will not only enjoy ‘Lessons That Endure’ but appreciate the gentle reminders to lead as you want to be led,” Thaman said. 

Plunkett’s goal as a high school principal was to form an atmosphere where kids naturally stood out through their respect, drive and emotional integrity. Now, with her memoir, she hopes to extend that outside our classroom and to the rest of the world.

“When a West High graduate goes out into the world, whether it’s school, college, work, the military or taking care of mom and dad — whatever it is they’re doing, there’ll be something about them that sets them apart from everybody else who’s doing what they’re doing. When somebody says to them, ‘you’re a very special person. Where did you go to high school?’ as people do in St. Louis [and] they say ‘Parkway West,’ I [want] everyone to say ‘ah, I should have known,’” Plunkett said. 

Upon retirement, Plunkett knew she could no longer keep her recipe for student success a secret and opted to write a memoir about her experience to benefit everyone.

“If [the memoir] helps any student or teacher to have a better experience in school, then I would say ‘mission accomplished’ because it doesn’t matter if you’re running a factory, a school or designing clothes, you’re interacting with other people so [these lessons apply],” Plunkett said.

Hardcover and paperback copies of “Lessons That Endure” can be bought on Amazon, or reserve an autographed copy at Plunkett’s website. For more information, visit her website and her LinkedIn page.