New elementary principal eager to build relationships
Trisha Benton Randolph Times RANDOLPH - Denton Beacom knows there’s something special about a small town.
He’s excited to be a part of it as the new Randolph Elementary principal, taking the reins from Mary Miller who retired and moved to Lincoln.
“I worked in a Class A school and I loved the community and school I worked in but you don’t get the same feeling that you do in a small town. I like to be able to make connections and go around town and see all the faces,” he said.
Beacom grew up in Hooper where he attended Logan View Public Schools. He then attended Wayne State College and received his bachelor’s degree in elementary education with endorsements in reading and writing as well as English as a second language.
He previously worked as a fourth-grade teacher at Gretna Public Schools and then taught fourth grade back at his alma mater Logan View. While teaching at Logan View, he earned his master’s degree in K-8 administration at Wayne State.
Beacom, his wife, Bailey, and 3-year-old son, Rhett, moved to Randolph at the end of June and was able to spend that first month just learning the community and talking to people. The first big event they participated in was Randolph’s Community Fair.
They also spent a lot of time at The Frozen Cow and the Lied Randolph Public Library.
“I don’t want to add up how many trips we had to the Frozen Cow but we only had a month to enjoy it,” Beacom said with a smile. “Actually, it’s been a nice thing. Every time we’ve gone uptown, we end up there for more than a hour, just visiting people and I’ve been able to meet some of the families that way. We also like to go on walks in the evening and you never know who you’re going to run into.”
Building relationships is important to Beacom as he starts out on his first principal job at Randolph. Since he officially started Aug. 1, he’s met one-on-one with the elementary teachers and staff, learning about them and asking how he can support them.
“Every part of the team is important. We’re all part of the team. No one is higher or lower. You may have titles but at the end of the day, those don’t matter,” Beacom said, providing an example of how if one cook, bus driver or para is missing on any given day things don’t run as smoothly.
Everyone doing their best and collaborating as a team is one of his goals.
Another goal is to fully implement the school’s Positive Behaviors Interventions and Supports. Randolph Elementary laid the groundwork last year for the staff-initiated program, Beacom said. Last year’s focus area was positive behaviors while in the hallways. There are some other areas that will be focused on this year.
“Expectation stations” will help students learn the behaviors that are expected of them at the start of the school year and then positive reinforcement will follow.
“If you focus on the positive, you won’t have so much corrective,” Beacom said.
His goal will also be to work with High School Principal Brandi Bartels to adopt a new math curriculum for 2023-24. New K-12 curriculum is needed as the current math materials are becoming obsolete.
The new curriculum selected will take into account new state math standards and will be tested before making a final decision by spring, Beacom said.
Along with his principal duties, Beacom will be teaching sixth grade reading.
He knows that he’ll be learning as he goes this year, right along with the students.
“My learning curve is some of the behind the scenes stuff that can’t really be prepared for,” Beacom said. “Some of those administrative duties, you can’t really take a class on. You get in it and dig through it to figure it out. You don’t know what you don’t know. Another important part of my job this year will be listening and learning.”
Away from school, Beacom likes to spend time outdoors and enjoys watching sports especially Husker and Green Bay Packers football. He’s worked on construction crews a lot and he still enjoys fixing things and working on construction projects.
