Mrs. Blatt is one of the assistant principals at Norman North High School. She has been working as an assistant principal for 21 years now.

Jackson Williford:

“So what inspired you to be a principal?”

Mrs. Blatt:

“That is a very good question. I just had this question with our new principal. I don’t know. If you would have told me that I was going to do this when I was your age; I would have laughed at you. I started out as a pharmacy major, and then decided I didn’t want to stand behind a counter counting pills. I thought that sounded kind of boring. So I have all this science. And so then I started teaching, and then went to Texas for two years, then found a job, moved back, found a job at PC North. And some friends of mine decided we were going to be in this cohort where you can get your master’s degree in administration, and I was like I don’t want to be a principal, but I just went ahead and did it because it was during the summer and weekends. So then I was in my fourth year of teaching, and I was the cheer sponsor, and the girl who was supposed to be the captain ended up not making the cheer squad, it was horrible and I was not a cheerleader, so I was like, “Oh my gosh.” I felt like I didn’t have that much control over what was going on and I decided, “you know what? I feel like it’s time to become an administrator.” I want to be an assistant principal. I lived in Norman, there were a couple of jobs posted one for middle school one for high school. I interviewed, and I didn’t know whether I was going to be middle school which would have been Irving or Norman North, but out of the candidates I had [previous] high school teaching experience so I ended up here, and I’m still here now.”

Jackson Williford:

“Did you go to Norman High?”

Mrs. Blatt:

“I was a Norman High Tiger. I’ve been at North with both my kids. My oldest graduated from here. I like working with you [students]. I like to see the growth, maturity, and I like to see what you go on and do beyond [high school]. I like to see the kids who have odds against them, and knowing that they can be successful. And they can go out and do whatever it is they want to do, regardless of what barriers they feel like they have right now. To see your faces when you walk across the stage at graduation. It’s just amazing, the smiles, the excitement, and to know that you have accomplished. You know, [after] 13 years of school, you’ve finished something that you started. So that’s what keeps me going. “

Jackson Williford:

“What hobbies do you have outside of school?”

Mrs. Blatt: 

“I like to do X Games, I like to snow ski, I like to go to the beach, I like to spend time with my family. I [grew] up out in the country. I used to ride horses and do hunter jumpers through high school. [I] just kind of changed, but I like to run, I like to work out, I like to get outside, I like to be with my family and my dog.”

Jackson Williford:

“Is there a reason you’ve chosen to stay at North in particular?”

Mrs. Blatt: 

“I love the school. I love the people I work with and the culture that this place has created. It’s changed in 21 years, but the expectation for you all is still the same. We expect you all to graduate. We expect you to go out and do whatever it is that you want to do. If it’s that you want to go work, you want to go to the military, you want to get out of Oklahoma City, you want to go to Duke, wherever it is that you want to get, we will help you get there, and provide that support for the platform. And then it’s all on me. So, mainly the people, the kids, and I’ve seen six principles come through. I’ve grown as an individual and I’ve grown as a professional. They all have their different personalities, they’ve all been different.”

Jackson Williford:

 “Do you have any funny stories about North that you’re allowed to share?”

Mrs. Blatt: 

“Yes.  They’re senior year pranks. Before the cafeteria, the Commons was set up differently. We used to have cafeteria-style tables that you fold up and you’d move out of the way. It was about three o’clock in the afternoon. It was in May, theweek of finals and graduation. We had the basketball coaches call up and say, “Is there a reason a hose is going across the basketball court?” Gosh, no, no, there is no reason, so we go down to the commons. They [seniors] had stretched out a slip and slide. Oh, that’s amazing within the commons. And by the time we got down there the kid who had done it was getting ready to run, and slide and we were like [“no”], because you know if that water had leaked all over the wood floor, I mean that’s thousands of dollars. Another senior prank, the seniors went and blocked off the senior row with shopping carts and caution tape. Okay, they went and took grocery carts, from like Target and caution tape, so nobody can park in there. So when you go out to move the grocery carts, I grabbed it, to start moving it. They put stink bait [all over]. Oh god. Do you know what stink bait smells like? They planned it out, they waited.  That’s when we still had a bridge across the back, so they were all parked over there. They waited until everything went out, the lights went out and that was pre-camera time, so we had to really dig and find out who did it. When Mr. Yang was there, they took his parking space and put a whole bunch of sand and a little baby pool in there because he was kind of a little short man. But his whole parking spot was full of sand and in this baby pool, there’s water. We’ve had a Swan or duck, put in I think it was Mr. Lisenfeld’s office towards the beginning. So, some crazy stories. “

Jackson Williford:

“Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to be in this field?”

Mrs. Blatt: 

“Education is one of those professions [where] you don’t get much money. You can live off the money. Hopefully, eventually, they will do better for education. It’s such an important piece to your child’s life, everybody benefits from it. And I just don’t think teachers get enough recognition. I feel like part of my job is to support teachers to support you all. You know and have them realize that they do have a major impact. My niece went to Baylor and she got a recreation and leisure degree, she thought she was going to go work at a camp. She went to work at a campsite and thought, these kids don’t need me, I’m not making an impact in their life. When working on a cruise ship around kids she realized, the same thing, now she is teaching at a charter school in Dallas Middle School. Yeah, she’s a PE teacher, she wanted to serve and make an impact in people’s lives. This is the best job if you want to provide support and impact for kids to let you know. You know because we all have different upbringings, we all have different experiences at home, and to know that you have that support here, and I tell kids our doors are open every day for you. And you may not like a particular teacher, you may not get along, but they are there for you to provide that support to help you get to the next level, and whatever it is you want to do, you all can do it. If you think, why can’t I afford to go to college. Yes, you can. We can help you find a way. I mean, straight A’s, ACT there’s all these scholarships that go unanswered, because kids don’t want to write essays for [them]. There’s work-study programs at universities. So there are ways to do lots of things and that’s our role. Awesome! 21 years I am still an assistant principal.”