Jeff Townsend, assistant principal

TKC: What has been the best part of your career at KHS?

JT: The best part for me, and probably for most teachers and administrators, is to get to know and see kids grow and progress. The biggest rewarding part is to see what they do after and keep in touch with the kids who graduate.

TKC: What made you want to be an educator?

JT: I knew early on I always wanted to coach. I had some great coaches in high school. I loved school growing up. I loved being part of school and everything — sports and all the extracurricular stuff. I had some really good coaches that were my mentors and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. And then getting into school, teaching, coaching, PE and health.

TKC: How has teaching changed since you started your career?

JT: The biggest change in school probably is the evolution of technology. The use of tech from a teaching standpoint, a communication standpoint and an educational standpoint has grown and changed so much and seems like it’s ever-changing. Sometimes it grows too fast. The other part I would say is the evolution of the phone as a device that you can do everything on has changed people. Not necessarily just kids, it’s changed people because everything is immediate access and knowledge. You don’t want to wait a day to find out what happened. Everybody wants that to happen right away. It’s changed how we think and do and act.

TKC: What are you going to do next year?

JT: I really don’t know what I’m going to do next year. My son plays college soccer for SLU. I’m going to spend the fall traveling and watching him play. My daughter is finishing nursing school in December. So that’s going to be a big life change for her and for our family. I’m going to work at Tower Tee, which is a golf range in Affton. I’m going to spend some time doing that because I love golf. It’s just something that I can do part time here and there. Then, [I’m] going to tinker around. Hopefully I get to play a lot of golf and fish and relax a little bit for the fall. And then I’ll decide. I’m gonna do something else, probably full time. But I really don’t know what that is right now. 

TKC: What is something your students don’t know about you that might surprise them?

JT: They might be surprised [that] I love to dance. I’m not going to say I do it a ton, but I’m a dancer. The administrators always give me trouble about dancing. I like all types of music. I’m a music guy behind the scenes, but most of the kids would not know that. I’m not really a concert goer, but I’m a music fan. And I really do, I like to dance. They’ll probably laugh at that.

TKC: What advice would you give your students?

JT: There are things out there for everybody. You don’t have to get caught up in trying to be like others or like people before you. Life is not easy. You do have to work for it, and there’s times where you’re going to struggle. Struggling is part of growing up and part of becoming who you are. Continue to push through things. High school should be fun, and it should be a great experience, [but] it’s such a minute part of what life is. So many things happen between now and when you’re 25 and then when you’re 35. You grow and you mature and there’s life and there’s relationships. So don’t just get so stuck in the moment here. Enjoy it while it’s here and don’t let it bother you too much pro or con.

TKC: Can you summarize your time at KHS in one sentence?

JT: I’m going to get emotional. I was very fortunate to work with the students and the kids and the families here in the district. I feel very fortunate, very blessed. 

TKC: Do you want to add anything else?

JT: I love this place. I’ve tried to put everything into it, and I’m not perfect by any means. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I still make mistakes every single day. But I’m fortunate to have worked with the families and the kids and the community and the staff that works in this building. I had a person tell me a long time ago, “you’re only as good as the people you work with.” I feel that way. This isn’t about me. It’s about all the other people that do little itty bitty things on an everyday basis that people don’t see. I’ve been very, very fortunate and very, very blessed to have worked [here]. Until COVID hit, I could say I never really worked a day in my life. It’s something that I’ve loved from day one. There’s ups and downs, and there’s good and bad days, but I never felt like this was work. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it but now it’s just time. It’s time to move forward.