ASHLAND — Taft Intermediate’s principal said he was feeling “fresh as a daisy” on the blue-skied morning of the district’s last day of the year.
Stephen McDonnell’s tongue-in-cheek remark came after spending 12 hours tent camping on the roof of the fourth and fifth grade school off Smith Road.
“He lost a bet,” said one of the teachers on Friday morning.
Yes, you read that right.
McDonnell, 57, spent one night atop the Taft Intermediate School roof — in a tent, on an air mattress, during a May night where temperatures dipped to a crisp 43 degrees.
It all started after a thoughtless promise he made to the 470 students during a recent morning announcement.
“I told them if they’d raise $500 for the end-of-the-year party that I’d camp on the roof,” he said. “I’ve never camped in my life. I wasn’t thinking about it when I said it during morning announcements. Not one bit, just came out,” McDonnell said.
Just two weeks later, the students crushed the goal when they earned $1,100 for their beloved end-of-the-year party, scheduled for June 20.
“There was no thought process involved at all,” he said, laughing, atop the roof as he and Tim Keller set up the tent on Thursday afternoon. “I had no idea if there was even a spot up here to put a tent.”
An on-the-roof promise
But McDonnell and Keller — the intermediate school’s two principals — were fired up with a zeal only educators fully realize. They boasted record-high state test scores that their fourth and fifth graders earned back in late April.
“The lowest score was 77%,” McDonnell said, saying the range in scores was 77 to 90 percent. “That’s elite stuff.”
So perhaps Keller and McDonnell wanted the end-of-the-year party to be extra special, to celebrate the students’ achievement and the teachers’ collective win.
But the off-the-wall (or on-the-roof) promise could have stemmed from a desire to go out with a bang. Both McDonnell and Keller are set to retire after a combined 68 years in education.
“We’re the class of 2024 — graduating finally,” Keller said.
Each educator began their careers in 1990, having taught the next generation through five different U.S. presidencies, the Columbine tragedy, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.
McDonnell added a personal tribulation to the mix: a cancer diagnosis in 2020.
“Right when COVID hit is when I got diagnosed,” he said. “It was an aggressive, ominous diagnosis … it’s been a long road.”
So when the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System changed its rules on when teachers with 34 years of service can retire, McDonnell and Keller knew it was the right time.
McDonnell lives in Ashland. He said he will spend more time on the golf course in retirement. Keller, 58, of Medina, doesn’t golf. He’s learning how. He plans to return to the district next year with a part-time gig coaching teachers in math education.
“I really have mixed feelings about (retirement).” Keller said. “I really enjoy the kids and the staff. Not being in the principal role will be different … but it’ll be good to still be involved with the community.”
‘Everything went great’
McDonnell, clad in a robe, SpongeBob SquarePants pajama bottoms, white tennis shoes and baseball cap waved to students, parents and teachers as they poured into the building.
“I like your pajamas,” one student yelled up to him.
“Thank you,” the principal replied. “Were you worried about me?”
“A little,” the student yelled back. “Like, how did you not fall off the roof?”
“Oh, you know,” he shot back. “I didn’t fall off. Everything went great.”
