Blue Umbrella Official Blue Umbrella Summer Issue | Page 4

AOA Pr incipal
Changing Jobs
By Ch ar it y H.
Every school has a principal. Whether it?s a brick
and mortar public school, private school, or a
virtual education center like Alpha Omega
Academy, there must be a strong leader who
inspires us to be better students, teachers and
scholars. For our school, Mr. Joe Bakker has
been that person. Striving to better the school,
he has done his best to maintain the unified
spirit of both AOA staff and the students
themselves.
When asked what his favorite thing about
working at AOA was, Mr. Bakker said that he
most enjoyed helping students achieve their
high school goals. "It is wonderful to see all the
different students complete their program at
AOA, which allows them to springboard into the
next stage of their lives," he said. There?s no
doubt that our principal carries the heartbeat of
education with him.
On July 9th, our hardworking principal will be
moving on to another job at Dordt College as the
Director of Online Education. Thanks to a local
paper that advertised the job and a few people
in his community who suggested the work
opportunity, Mr. Bakker is ready to springboard
into the next stage of his life as well. And yet the
question still remains: Who will follow in the
footsteps of Joe Bakker? Who could qualify for
this position? According to the man himself, all
it requires is drive and interest.
"I started at Alpha Omega Academy as a math
teacher," he remarked.
"It is the community of
this school that blesses
students and families
all over the world."
"A few years later I started working as a
member of AOA?s leadership team and had a
couple of other positions. Then, in 2013, when
the current principal left to work at another
school, I started as AOA?s principal."
When asked about a successor, Mr. Bakker
plainly explained that anyone with the correct
knowledge is able to take his place. Alpha
Omega Academy is currently accepting
applications for the principal position. Mr.
Bakker stated, "We hope to fill the position
soon."
While we are anxious to see who the next
principal will be, we will surely miss Mr. Bakker.
"As I leave AOA, I would like to encourage the
students, faculty and staff to continue doing
what they are doing," he said. "It is the
community of this school that makes it such a
unique, Christian school that blesses students
and families all over the world. AOA is a
wonderful school that has a bright future
ahead of it."