MIKE'S BLESSING
A former school janitor-turned-teacher has become the principal of a California elementary school.
Mike Huss says he feels "blessed" to have had such a fulfilling career so far and is excited to start a new chapter leading Ione Elementary School in Ione, California, a small city about 41 miles southeast of Sacramento.
"I am blessed. I truly am and I don't do anything special. I just show up and work hard. I show up and try my best," the
55-year-old said.
Huss has only been principal for about a year but he already has a lot of support from his school district -- Amador County Unified School District, which appointed him to the role -- his school staff and his young students.
"They give me hugs and say, 'You're doing a great job,' and it's really cute to see a first grader tell you that. 'You don't even know what I'm doing. But thank you very much for saying it.' But they see me out and interacting so I think to
them, that's all that matters," Huss said, who added that the school is "a wonderful place to be because of the kids."
Huss has had a long history with Ione Elementary, which is home to approximately 540 students. He attended the school as a young boy and for the last 19 years was a teacher at his alma mater in the first, second and fifth grades.
But before he started teaching, Huss was also a janitor at Ione Elementary.
As a janitor, he made an effort to connect with
students. Huss said teachers at Ione were the ones who first encouraged him to pursue a teaching career.
"A lot of teachers here at Ione Elementary kept saying, 'You're wasting your time. Look at these kids. They are attracted to you … and they want to be around you and they learn from you. You need to go back and became a teacher...read more
