Remember Him?: What Dr. McKinney is Doing Now

photo courtesy to Aislinn Menke

design courtesy to Meg Thoma

At the 2018 graduation ceremony, former principal John McKinney said, “And remember, it’s always great to be a Lancer,” to the crowd of columbia blue graduation caps. This is the last time he would ever say these words as an East principal. But his speech at graduation didn’t end his work at East. In the days leading up to summer break, he spent nearly 200 hours in two weeks engaging with the students he had watched grow — and sadly saying goodbyes.

During McKinney’s last year as principal, he was simultaneously ending his fourth year of earning his doctorate degree in education at the University of Kansas. After 10 years of being an East english teacher and 8 years of being principal, McKinney was offered Director of Family and Student Services for the Shawnee Mission School District because of his dedication to his job and doctorate degree. He took the administrator position as a chance to advance his career and spend more time with his family.

As the Director of Student and Family Services, McKinney oversees the district’s social workers, counselors, migrant education, diversity inclusion, LGBTQ+ and volunteer programs. He also looks over student records, making sure that transcripts are shared with colleges properly. He creates and supports 504 plans that aid disabled students in the district, allowing them to participate in school activities.

Although it is only his first year in the position, he has ran a national program called the McKinney Vento program within the district. The McKinney Vento is a United States federal law that provides federal money for homeless shelter programs. He wanted to do this due to the amount of homelessness that’s local to the East community. Recently, he traveled to California to be a part of a fundraiser for child homelessness to raise his own awareness. The program is present within SMSD, and he’s responsible for organizing the 200+ families involved in fundraising for the homeless.

As McKinney entered this new stage in his life, he felt satisfied with his 18 years of dedication to East, and was happy to leave former Indian Hills Middle School principal, Dr. Scott Sherman, in charge. McKinney was looking forward to seeing what Dr. Sherman’s plans were as the new principal, as he was already familiar with the school routines and all four classes currently at East, being the previous Indian Hills Middle School principal.

After McKinney watched the class of ’18 throw their hats in the air, the fact that he would never be up on that stage again really hit him. He would be leaving 1,800 smiles he was able to see every day. In his upcoming years, his daughters Maeve, a senior, and Stella, a sophomore, wouldn’t be spending their last years at East with their dad running the school. McKinney realized he wouldn’t be able to eat lunch with them during school hours, receive surprise greetings from them or shake their hands at graduation.

“He was very dedicated to both his doctorate and job, so he didn’t have much time for anything else,” Stella said. “With his new job, he spends much more time at home or doing activities with us.”

McKinney definitely misses welcoming students into the building at the beginning of the day, and watching students mature as they learn to navigate their way through high school. After almost two decades working at East, McKinney naturally felt awkward as he adjusted to his new work environment. He has been adjusting to his new job day by day, and can’t wait to see what the future has to hold with more time with family. He will always miss saying his famous “It’s always a great day to be a Lancer” quote everyday.

“Walking through the hallways and seeing the students I got to see grow and mature throughout high school was my favorite part,” McKinney said. “I made connections with students I’d never expect.”