Assistant principal reveals a different side

Given his job as the school’s chief disciplinarian, meeting with assistant principal Kevin Mount may not be high on students’ to-do list. But what many students fail to see is that Mount has much more to offer than just a Saturday School.

Before his entry into education in 1996, Mount worked as a landscaper in Santa Cruz. He designed, installed and maintained yards.

“I did a lot of irrigation, digging, tree-work and climbing. When I was a younger guy, it was fun being outside every day,” Mount said. “It was good when my kids were little because I was my own boss, so I could go home when I needed to be with them.”

Mount enjoyed the “people-part” of the job the most.

“I made a lot of friends with my clients,” he said. “They’d show up and talk to me for 10 minutes or so and that’s what I really liked.”

Since the physical labor of landscaping was so demanding, Mount eventually decided to follow in his wife’s footsteps and become a teacher. He taught English for four years at San Lorenzo Valley High in Felton before assuming a position at Saratoga High in 2001, where he taught English 9 and AP Language until 2006. Mount then moved to the district office, where he worked as the director of curriculum and alternative education and was the principal of the district’s alternative education program called NOVA.

Mount’s background is strongly artistic. He has played the guitar since high school and writes music and poetry.

“I spent a lot of time composing and recording. I’m kind of a music hermit. The goal is to play every day, but I have a lot more time in summer,” he said.

Mount considered starting a band in high school, but preferred writing to performing.

“Performing is nerve-wracking,” he said. “I did a lot of drama in high school and I was pretty into it, but there was a point where it just created too much anxiety and that’s not what I was looking for. The creative process of writing is much calmer.”

Though Mount does not write as much as he used to, he has been working on a collection of poetry for the past 10 years and goes back to it from time to time.

“It’s a huge effort to finish it and polish it and make it perfect, but maybe someday.”

As assistant principal, Mount is in charge of discipline, attendance, athletics and facilities and is the chair of the staff development team.

“I work with parents, students, parent organizations, maintenance workers and coaches, so communication is key to this job,” he said.

In terms of discipline, Mount’s goal is to be as fair and consistent as possible.

“I know the cuts and tardies [disciplines] are terrible and kids hate them, but we’re trying to hold them accountable for that. If you cut, you have to pay the price.”

Mount believes that his consistency has had a positive effect. He strives to make SHS a place where students feel safe and comfortable.

“I really feel like we can do that. If not here, where? We’re so close already.”