Provost Brian Compagnone has been a teacher at UC High for the past four years, but this 2011-2012 school year, he no longer teaches English as he has instead taken on a series of new roles.
Compagnone explained, “My position is indeterminable. I’m a part-time administrator, part-time counselor, part-time teacher, and occasional circus sideshow performer (weekends only), in addition to being President of the Rushmore Beekeepers.”
This year, Compagnone teaches AVID as his only class, which takes place during second period. Despite having students in class only once a day, he still is able to interact with a variety of different students through his provost position. Compagnone said, “I’m able to deal with a much wider group of students- telling them to pick up trash, get to class on time, etc. Unbelievably, one of the best parts of my job is lunch supervision because it’s the one time of the day besides AVID that I can interact with students.”
Junior Katie Wald, a student of Compagnone’s both this year and last feels that it is unfortunate that other students will not get the chance to have Compagnone as an English teacher. She said, “Mr. C was one of the best English teachers I’ve ever had, and it sucks that other students won’t have the opportunity to be in his class. On the bright side, he won’t be able to torture students with existentialism anymore.”
The transition between teaching and becoming one of the school’s administrators hasn’t been the easiest for students, or even Compagnone himself. “In today’s chaotic, crazy world, who can really define what the word ‘provost’ or ‘job responsibility’ really means?” he said. “Last year I was essentially only a classroom teacher. This year, I am best termed a ‘fauxministrator’- a nebulous gray area between teaching and administration. The job is just vague enough that I enjoy the benefits of neither position.”
Although Compagnone’s new title of being a provost carries more accountability and tasks, he doesn’t it allow it to affect his view on the job itself. Instead, he looks beyond the seriousness and continues to withhold his humor and wit, enjoying the perks of what his new position has to offer. He explained, “I enjoy the awesome power that is associated with being issued a walkie-talkie, and the weekly spa days that are part of the standard administrator’s contract are a nice touch as well. What I don’t enjoy is that I am so serious about my new position that I am no longer able to employ sarcasm while working.”
Editor’s Note: Readers are advised to firmly place tongue-in-cheek while reading Mr. Compagnone’s quotations.