Kim to Leave After 23 Years
Assistant Principal Ronald Kim will be leaving Exeter at the end of this year, after 23 years of dedication and service to the Academy.
Originally, Kim had planned to come to New Hampshire for only a couple of years before returning to the West Coast. “I’m a West Coast guy,” Kim said. However, he added, “It’s taken me 23 years to get around to that. Exeter is a hard place to leave.”
Kim is moving in order to work at a school in either San Jose or Seattle, both part of a network of schools on the West Coast, where he will take on the position of head of school. “These schools are very high achieving, very impressive schools. The results are really quite spectacular,” Kim stated. The schools, located in urban areas, typically have around 1,000 students and start at either kindergarten or fifth grade and run through 12th.
Kim’s role at the new school will be “more traditional” compared to his role at Exeter as assistant principal. The Head of School’s job is to focus primarily on the educational aspects of the school: to oversee the teaching and learning, to hire the teachers, to make sure the teachers are trained and performing well and to make sure the students are succeeding in their studies. His work as the assistant principal, however, has been less standard.
“My job as the assistant principal has been about so many other things that go into the operation of a large school, having to do with so many areas of school life that typically you don’t think about when you go to a school.” Although he does focus on teaching and learning, Kim’s job has led him to hold many other unconventional roles at Exeter.
Most dramatically, Kim’s transition from Exeter to the West Coast will mean he is no longer part of a residential school community. Kim currently does dorm duty in Langdell Hall on Fridays. He can usually be found lounging on the couch with his iPad, greeting everyone who enters the common room with a smile. Reflecting on his tenure at Exeter, Kim said, “Being around the [girls] and enjoying [their] company is one of the best parts of the job. Dorm duty has never felt like work in all the years I’ve been here. I’ll miss those moments.”
“It’s taken me 23 years to get around to that. Exeter is a hard place to leave.”
Kim will be missed greatly by Langdell as well. Tina Wang, a lower in the dorm, said, “I will miss him so much. He is so funny and I love it when he’s on duty in the dorm.” Prep Izzi Robbins said, “I’m happy he’s moving on to exciting new things. But I’ll miss him in the dorm because he’s very relaxed.”
Seniors Alison Dowski and Meghana Chalasani both agreed that after four years in Langdell with Mr. Kim, they’ll always remember him sitting on the couch on Friday nights watching basketball games, ready to make everyone laugh.
The faculty members in Langdell echoed students’ sentiments—all were greatly saddened when told that Kim would be leaving. English Instructor and Langdell dorm head Patricia Burke-Hickey was told in December of Kim’s decision to leave and that Exeter was still unsure as to whether or not someone would replace him.
Burke-Hickey said she was sad to hear such a “wise and valuable resource” to her during her first two years as dorm head would be leaving. “It has been so incredibly valuable to have him on the dorm team,” she said.
Other teachers and students have expressed disappointment that Kim will be leaving as well. Mathematics Instructor Stephanie Girard said, “I will miss him tremendously both as a colleague and friend.”
Upper Greg Miller got to know Kim through his experience tutoring his son and his friendship with Kim’s daughter, upper Maya Kim.
“I wish him the best,” he said. Maya has appreciated having her father on campus for the past three years. She explained that he has been an invaluable resource for her, offering advice from years of knowledge of students at the Academy.
“I’m incredibly proud of him for finding a career that he enjoys and for being an amazing dad,” she said. “He’s taught me a lot, and I’ll be sad to not see him around campus for my senior year.”
Lower Grace Goodwin noted that the Exeter community will miss Kim and his “kind and smiling face.” She went on, saying “I remember meeting him when I was first applying to Exeter and am glad I got to know him.”
Kim, when asked if he had anything else to say, added, “I’ve been able to work here for twenty-three years, and it’s been immeasurably important for me and for my family, personally and professionally. Thank you to all the students, faculty, staff and all the alumni who’ve made this a great experience.”