Northview — The daughter of a third-generation dairy farmer, Audra Whetstone joined Northview Public Schools in fall 2007 as a high school English teacher. In the first 18 years of her career, she thrived at the front of the classroom, established lifelong friendships with colleagues who were also new to teaching, and helped create and build Northview’s popular Field School program.
But she hadn’t seriously considered a role in administration until recently, when circumstances felt right — and with plenty of encouragement from co-workers.
Now, Whetstone is the new assistant principal for Northview High School. We spent an afternoon getting to know her better for this edition of Meet Your Administrator:
Other positions you’ve held in education: Northview High School has been “my first and only ‘big-girl’ job,” Whetstone said. She student taught at Chippewa Hills Middle School in Mecosta County and substitute taught at her high school alma mater, Montebella Junior/Senior High, “which is itty-bitty, tiny, tiny,” she said. After landing the ELA job at Northview, “I haven’t even thought of going anywhere else.”
What drew you to Northview? “In all honesty, I didn’t really know anything about Northview to start. I knew (the assistant principal), and he helped me get my foot in the door.”
The district’s welcoming culture drew her in right away, she said.
“There was an immediate appeal of family and community here. I started coaching softball my very first year, so that got me into the sports world. … and I was hired in with a huge hiring class, where I met some of my still-now best friends that way; we were all first-year teachers together and have done life, marriage, babies, all together.
“I just love Northview. I love the diversity. I like how big it is and all the opportunities it has. I didn’t have that growing up, being from a really small community. Now I can’t see myself, or my kids, anywhere else.”
Education/degrees:
- Bachelor’s degree, English and secondary education, with a minor in biology, Alma College.
“Usually, English and science don’t go together. But I love the sciences, the biology parts, the labs — I just loved those classes at Alma. But, fun fact: I have never actually taught a biology lesson in my life. They are so fun to observe, but I would be intimidated to teach it because it’s such a different world.”
- Master’s degree, educational leadership, Western Michigan University.
“I just wanted to try to get that done, to say I did it. … For years I just kind of sat on (the degree) and would say ‘I’ll never be a principal; I just want a degree.’ I love learning about leadership and learning about yourself to help others, so that’s how that came together.”
What changed your mind and made you consider a job in administration? “When this position opened up, I wasn’t really thinking about it, but some of my colleagues and friends told me it would be really good to see me in that role. For a long time, I could only see myself as an English teacher — I was so in that lane. And there’s certainly parts that I still miss. But the more I thought about it, it was like, YOLO! You only live once! I started thinking about the possibilities of something new, the things I had learned about leadership, and it was really exciting.”
With a few months of experience now, what speaks to you in this new role? “I think the biggest thing I enjoy is that I’m very much approaching this from the mindset of a teacher. And I’m working together with (Principal) Brent (Dickerson), who is also new to his role and also a former teacher. The two of us are always mindful of our staff and how our work impacts students, how it is received and how we can be transparent. … I thoroughly enjoy the planning and prep and establishing a logical framework for our staff, whatever it’s for.”
Whetstone has also found deep purpose in the opportunity to observe teachers in the classroom, provide feedback and work collaboratively to improve the craft of teaching across all subject areas. She described a recent interaction with science teacher Charissa Kashian, who was looking for ways to help her students reflect on and edit their own writing according to standards expected by College Board:
“I discovered some methods and approaches over my years of teaching AP English and Composition that I had tweaked and literally felt made a difference in the students’ writing. … I shared an example with Charissa, and she tweaked it to fit the style of writing she has to teach in her AP Environmental Science class. It was incredibly fulfilling to hear her talk about the vulnerability it took for her to teach this way, but to feel the reward of her students seeing it ‘click’ as they analyzed student sample responses and then did so on their own.
“It solidified that this practice of ‘workshopping’ student models to help students reflect, learn and grow can be applied to any discipline. … It was definitely a full-circle moment, and it proved to me that teaching is still very much ingrained to me despite the room I reside in for 180 days per year.”
What would you like to share about your family? Whetstone and her husband have two children, a daughter in eighth grade and a son in fourth grade. The family lives on a lake and enjoys outdoor activities like tubing and ice fishing.
“Some people have described the kids as cookie-cutters, as in my daughter looks just like me and my son looks just like my husband — but they are the complete reverse in personalities, so that’s fun. … We are an active family; sports keep us very busy. I use the phrase, ‘I’m better when I’m busy,’ and I probably maintain that in all aspects of my life. But I’ve learned in my ‘older age’ that I just love a good nature walk. Go out there and take it all in. It reminds me to slow things down, because life can get pretty chaotic at times.”
What is on your bucket list? “I’d love to go to New Orleans sometime, to be immersed in that culture and see what it’s all about. … A big trip to Colorado is also on the list, whether it’s to go skiing or we go in the summer, but while there I definitely want to watch a concert at Red Rocks. More specifically, I’d love to see Mumford and Sons, or Dave Matthews Band, or The Lumineers, or some kind of folky-type band.”
What was your first concert? “All-4-One, at Central Michigan University. I was in middle school, probably seventh grade.”
‘I can’t see myself, or my kids, anywhere else.’
— Audra Whetstone, Northview High School assistant principal
What kind of kid were you as a high school student? “I was scared to death to get in trouble for anything. Definitely a rule-follower, very driven, very conscious of my grades, student athlete, parents never had to check on me — that type of kid. But I hung around with a whole bunch of different types of people, too, considering that we were in a small community.”
Is there a book/show/podcast that has impacted you as an educator? In response, Whetstone immediately turned and grabbed from her office bookshelf a well-worn copy of “Last Child in the Woods” by Richard Louv. The book, which she discovered thanks to an excerpt in her students’ national exam one year, argues the importance of keeping children connected to nature to support both physical and mental health.
For Whetstone, who was raised on her parents’ dairy farm, it was a lightbulb moment.
“As a kid, we were always outside — we didn’t have video games, no cable, we were outside. And that’s me as a parent, too — I’m just such a firm believer of the importance of nature therapy. But kids now are getting outside less. … And it’s funny, because of how I was raised, but I read that one passage and I just had to know more. I think the book helped me learn some things that I really already knew. It helped drive my interest in being part of the team to help start our Field School, and now both of my kids have gone through that … and it’s been such a pivotal thing for so many of our students.”
How will you encourage student voice at NHS? “I am working with our student leaders, National Honor Society, Student Council, making sure they know me and I know them. But also, I want to make it very clear to our whole student body, if they come here to talk to us about anything, that they know that Brent and I both are very open to the ideas of student advocacy, hearing their voices and doing what we can to support what they want to do — within the school bylaws. … I love the idea of students advocating and using their voice and standing up for their thoughts and beliefs.”
Read more from Northview:
• Bonanza of books sparks generosity, collaboration
• Mentor program going strong, two decades in
