(Sher) Man of the Family

By Lydia Underwood

Dr. Sherman would run up and down the sidelines of the basketball court at his son Tanner’s game. He clapped his hands every time his son’s team made a basket and yelled “defense” from the sidelines to ensure they blocked the ball.

Sherman loved the competitive atmosphere that came with coaching softball, soccer and basketball. But most of all, he loved watching his kids compete.

Now that he’s the principal of East, he has 1,743 more kids to cheer for at sporting events, choir concerts, and plays, in addition to his own two children.

Before he was a principal, Sherman doubled as a coach and teacher at SM North when he became a father to his first-born son Tanner. Spending hours around his son Tanner and his daughter Addison helped him find his fathering style.

As a father, Sherman learned to juggle different personalities. Tanner always sticks to a routine, much like Sherman. Addison is much more open to change and will go with the flow like Sherman’s wife, Shelley. The most difficult personality for him to relate to is a student who has a fixed mindset rather than an open and dynamic personality– much like himself. The dualities of Addison and Tanner’s personalities gives him experience he can apply when dealing with students.

“He has more of a routine but I go with the flow more,” Shelley said, looking at Sherman.

“I get set in my ways sometimes, if I get to school later than I planned, I feel a little messed up and off the entire day,” Sherman said.

One of the most important things to Sherman is having a good relationship with his children. He wants them to feel comfortable talking about their tough math test or if one of their friends left them out of a friends night out. His communication with his family has helped him grapple the chaos of communicating with middle and high schoolers.

“When Addison and Tanner were really young if they saw something on the news that was bad we would explain to them what that was about,” Sherman said.

“The key is establishing with them that they could come and talk to us about anything,” Shelley said.

Freshman Sasha Malik worked with Dr. Sherman last year to organize the walkout protesting for stricter gun control laws at Indian Hills. Malik noticed his approachability and willingness to help organize the walkout. He walked through the timing and showed her how to advertise the event without breaking the district’s policies.

“He was all for it and I think if he could he would have been like ‘let’s go for it, let’s plaster  posters up all over,’ Malik said. “I think he wants us to able to do what we want to have an impact.”

Sherman recognizes the importance of building relationships with his students and knows that having them with parents is crucial too. Sherman knows that parents want to know that he cares about the kids from football games to tests in class– because that is what he would want as a parent.

“The parents saw I cared about the kids in school, outside of school, and would take time on a Saturday to go watch them play,” Sherman said. “I think that helps, especially with the kids. I think they love seeing you outside of school.”

Sherman always tries to be seen out of the school to establish trust with the students and parents. With his family, he always went to their soccer, baseball, and basketball games. Now as a principal, he’s at East games, sitting in the auditorium cheering on the cast of the spring musical and the choir as he would his own kids’.

Sherman has realized how important close relationships are. The ones he has built with the Indian Hills kids in past grades have translated over to the students at East.

“It’s really neat to see how they were as seventh and eighth graders and how they are now,” said Sherman. “I’ve already know them to an extent, I already know their parents. It’s made it easier that I already have that relationship with many of the students.”

This time Sherman will run down the sidelines of the basketball court, but the stands are filled with lancer blue. He will clap his hands each time the team scores a basket, cheering for a team full of students he has known since middle school.