Dr. Jeff Blankenship joins Fort Zumwalt School District as Principal at North Middle School effective July 1. He comes to the district after almost 10 years as an assistant principal at Francis Howell North High School. Before his time at Howell North, Blankenship taught six years in Parkway. He is an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.
Since being named North Middle Principal, Blankenship has been working to make as many connections as possible with families and staff before the start of the school year Aug. 19. “I am looking forward to building relationships with students, staff, and parents as we work together to make North Middle an amazing place to learn,” he says. He spent three days in professional development with the faculty and staff in June.
North Middle School is one of the oldest buildings in the Fort Zumwalt School District and Blankenship arrives in the midst of a large-scale construction project. Phase one, a classroom wing that will also function as a storm shelter large enough for the entire school population, is scheduled to be complete in December.
“Coming from a place that was a construction zone for the past three years, I know some of the challenges, not just for staff but for students and families,” Blankenship says. “But I also can see the other side. I’ve seen how excited everyone in the community is about the new spaces and the way they are built for learning. It re-energizes the climate and culture, and I’m really excited for North Middle School.”
When he’s not at school, Blankenship enjoys time with his wife of 19 years and their three children, all of whom are around middle school age. “It will be an adjustment going from working at a high school to working at a middle school, but having my own kids so close to this age, including one in middle school, helps me see the challenges middle schoolers work through on a daily basis,” he says. “I’m excited to experience what middle school is like and take that knowledge home. But, I’m also excited to learn at home what middle schoolers need and how we can bring those things to their school environment.”