Mr. Banks could not be happier in his first year as a new assistant principal at Dominion High School, but he didn’t always imagine himself here. Mr. Banks tried out for NFL teams and played Arena football in hopes of catching a recruiter’s attention. After four years of this, he decided he wanted to pursue another big dream of his: education.

Working at Dominion

Q: How was your first day at Dominion?

A: It was very exciting, unique and a big change from the past 12 years working at schools.

Q: In your opinion, why is an assistant principal vital within a school like ours? / What are the duties of an assistant principal?

A: An assistant principal plays several roles within a school, like serving in the absence of the principal and being an instructional leader. They are also a link between the principal, staff, students, and an excellent resource.

Q: What do you plan to bring to our school?

A: I would like to bring fresh new ideas and help Dominion along our journey and our 2020 vision goals. (2020 vision is to help promote high achievement among our most vulnerable students and to encourage each and every Titan to lead a life of significance).

Q: Are you excited to be working with Dr. Brewer and the other assistant principals? Why?

A: I am so excited, because they are all such unique individuals and play different roles because of their different personalities. Dr. Brewer is an excellent leader and I plan to learn a lot from him.

Q: What makes Dominion different from other schools you have worked at?

A: Dominion’s structure, because it is like a middle school model meaning we took a large high school and made it feel smaller. Doing this is a very hard, yet amazing thing to do. It makes everyone feel included.

Q: What influenced your decision to work at Dominion High School?

A: It was a good location and opportunity. I was very impressed with the administrative team.

Background

Q: What prior experience do you have to help in your new position?

A: I spent 10 years teaching Health/Physical Education and coaching high school football. I then spent two years being the vice principal for 9^th graders at a high school in Norfolk News, VA.

Q: What made you want to become an assistant principal?

A: I always wanted to be in education, so after teaching for such a long time I wanted to challenge myself to see how far up the ‘educational ladder’ I could get. And being an assistant principal helps teachers across the board.

Q: Where did you go to college? / What did you major in?

A: I attended University of Delaware where I got my bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. I also went to Norfolk State University and got my master’s in Urban Education and Leadership Supervision.

Q: Why did you always want to be in education?

A: It is the vehicle to all things since it prepares everyone for their jobs later on-like doctors and lawyers. Education has a huge influence on the world which I always thought was one of the coolest things ever.

Outside of Dominion

Q: What do you do in your free time?

A: I spend time with my family in Newport News, VA, where my son plays on his high school football team. I go out to see him play on the weekends.

Q: Hobbies?

A: I like to read, work out, and watch football.

Q: What is the most interesting thing about you?

A: For relaxation and therapy I love to clean, I find myself washing cars and cleaning the house very often. My friends always make fun of me for it.