Are you curious about what a day in the life of Providence Academy’s beloved Upper School Director, Mr. Kurt Jaeger, looks like? The PAW was, and we decided to follow him for a day to see for ourselves all that he does for our school. Spoiler alert! Our biggest takeaway is that Mr. Jaeger dedicates his career to helping students and forming strong relationships with them.
This is Mr. Jaeger’s third year as Upper School Director; however, he has had many roles in the PA community, which include: Senior Development Officer, Dean of Activities, 2nd grade teacher, religion teacher, 6th grade history teacher, and Director of Athletics.
Mr. Jaeger starts his day bright and early at 6 a.m. by making sure everything is in order for the day before he leaves for work. He double checks his email and communicates with Mrs. Gregg with any last minute news. Then, he arrives on campus around 8 a.m and his busy day officially begins. Each day is different but they generally consist of a mixture of standard meetings, hiring new teachers and faculty, observations of students and teachers, answering phone calls and countless emails, attending 12th grade senior speeches, and being present within the PA community.
Above all, Mr. Jaeger’s main focus is on student life. He makes sure to be in the hallways during passing periods to ask how students are doing. He also blocks out time everyday to stop by at lunch to connect with students.
“By talking with students you get a lot of good feedback,” he said. And with a smile added, “It’s surprising how if you ask these questions, you learn things you need to know.”
Mrs. Sarah Hogan, Director of College Counseling and Alumni Engagement and a colleague of Mr. Jaeger commented, “Mr. Jaeger is a quintessential principal, approaching his day-to-day work with students, faculty, and families with a servant leader mindset, knowing full well that students are in the process of formation, and that they and their teachers and staff mentors both need positive, unwavering support to be successful. Mr. Jaeger, like any great principal, is a very good listener, knows the names of all of the Upper School students, and stands prepared to tackle any conflicts that might arise.”
Mr. Jaeger says that his favorite part of the job is the opportunity to interact with students. Being student-centered and forming bonds is very important to him. When Dr. Flanders asked Mr. Jaeger if he was interested in the position of Upper School Director, Mr. Jaeger said that he wanted students to know who he was and for them to feel comfortable with him and what he does at PA.
Another aspect of his job is that Mr. Jaeger prioritizes his relationship with the faculty. He relayed, “I want to be someone who works with them, not someone they answer to. At the end of the day, we all have the same job, which is to help the students and set them up for success.”
Harrison McGill, ‘25, shared, “He is truly a remarkable principal. He is always so kind and I appreciate how he is out in the hallways everyday to ask how our day is going.”
Even after school hours, Mr. Jaeger plays an active role in our PA community. He not only supports his own children, but also attends and supports various concerts, games, and other activities at school.
However, every job has its challenges. When asked what was most challenging about his job Jaeger said, “If you want to be popular and well liked all the time, administration is not for you. When you are the one who ultimately makes decisions, at any time people will be unhappy with what you do. However, you need to be willing to make decisions and stand behind them even when people don’t agree with you. As long as you know that you are acting for the best, you need to follow through. I find that people will respect your decision even if you don’t agree with them.”
He admits that finding the balance between academic expectations and creating an enjoyable high school experience can be hard. Mr. Jaeger said that he loves his job and is extremely thankful to be a part of Providence Academy. Likewise, we as students are so thankful to have him as our beloved director.