Following a five-year term as an assistant principal at our school, Scott McKeown will be moving on and taking the same position at Swanson Middle School. Laura Porter, Swanson’s current assistant principal, will fill the vacancy at our school.

“They encourage administrators to swap schools and transfer, and Laura Porter and I oddly enough swapped positions five years ago. She was where I am sitting, and I was where she is sitting, and now we are swapping back. So it is a unique trade,” McKeown said.

While McKeown will no longer walk our school’s halls everyday, he is going to miss the school community. A highlight of McKeown’s career has been forming connections with the students and staff at our school.

“High school kid conversations are great. I love cutting up and carrying on with some of the students in the hallway, and there’s a ton of great teachers here too,” McKeown said.

As students progress through the years of high school, they grow and develop alongside their peers. For McKeown, watching this happen is one of the best parts of the job.

“I got really excited about getting a class of freshmen and seeing them graduate four years later. It was really exciting to see the kids grow up, go up on the stage, and become bigger and smarter and more insightful,” McKeown said.

As much as McKeown has enjoyed his five years here at our school, that does not mean there have not been plenty of obstacles thrown in his way. McKeown has had to face renovations, a lockdown and a pandemic during his time as assistant principal.

“When we expanded the building a couple years ago, it was really tricky trying to figure out how all these new spaces were going to work. Some of the safety things were also difficult, the lockdown especially. However, folks at Yorktown smile and persevere, and we move on,” McKeown said.

Despite the many challenges McKeown has had to face, he has loved being a part of our school’s community. Next year at Swanson, McKeown is excited to work with younger students in middle school — everyone’s favorite three years.

“Middle school is kind of an odd duck. Kids are really in the middle, so that stage is really unique, and it is fun to guide them. The other thing is that it is a little smaller, so it is more fun and a little more easy to maneuver. That is gonna be nice to slow down that way,” McKeown said.

McKeown will be missed from our school’s halls, but his talents will remain in the Arlington community. Thank you for all that you have done for our school, Mr. McKeown!