AUBURN — Edward Little alum and longtime coach and teacher Ryan LaRoche is leaving for Leavitt Area High School next week to be its new dean of students.
“Leavitt is kind of an ideal situation,” LaRoche said. “More and more people from the Lewiston/Auburn area are moving into Turner, Greene, Leeds. It kind of just feels like a really good fit for me.”
LaRoche, who graduated from Edward Little High School in 1990, has taught there since 1994, nearly all that time as a history teacher.
Over the years, he coached outdoor and indoor track at different grade levels, as well as soccer. He’s been the head coach of the boys’ outdoor track team for the past 10 years.
“I have enjoyed every day of it,” he said.
LaRoche said late in the summer an assistant principal decided to leave that job in Westbrook, which led to a chain of moves that opened up the Leavitt position almost midway through the year.
As dean of students, he’ll work on students’ issues, letters of recommendation, meetings and discipline.
“Getting to work with (new assistant principal) Derek Galway is something I’m really looking forward to after working with his dad (retired EL Assistant Principal Steve Galway) for 20 years,” LaRoche said. “Steve Galway told me there’s three things to being an administrator: Relationships, relationships, relationships. It’ll be a goal for me from day one to get to know kids outside of the discipline end of my job.”
His last day at Edward Little is Tuesday, Nov. 25. He starts his new position on Monday, Dec. 1.
“It took me eight years to get my master’s degree in educational leadership,” LaRoche said. “It’s definitely something that I’ve wanted almost from the very beginning. I knew classroom teaching would be my first love, but knowing the ability to affect kids and their lives as an administrator — that’s where I wanted to be eventually. I’m very excited. I’m excited that it’s happening, I’m excited where it’s happening.”
kskelton@sunjournal.com
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