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Tim Kelty takes the reins at Woodside school
Austintown
After five years as assistant principal of Fitch High School, Tim Kelty is headed back to kindergarten.
The Youngstown State University graduate and Austintown native is the new principal of Woodside Elementary School.
Kelty, 43, is filling the position previously held by Carole Sutton, who is now director of special services for Austintown schools.
Kelty coached football and baseball at Fitch while working toward his undergraduate degree in health and physical education at YSU and maintained that position after graduating. Working with athletes gave him the opportunity to bond with kids.
“I love building relationships with kids,” Kelty said. “If you can connect with a kid, you can see it in their face.”
His work as a coach also gave him his team mentality. Kelty would rather talk about his colleagues than himself.
“The Austintown staff genuinely cares about individual students,” he said. “They’re great people.”
Kelty served in Operation Desert Storm for one year before returning to YSU to renew his teaching certificate, this time in the administration field. He has three children age 13, 9 and 3.
He’s only been on the job for a few days, but Kelty already has observed the stark differences between high-school and elementary school students.
“High-school kids now are very independent, very resourceful,” Kelty said. “We have elementary school kids that come in, and you sometimes have to tie shoes and teach them letters. They’re at the very beginning.”
Kelty recalled a recent encounter with a boy who had no trouble untying his laces. “We had a kid come in off the playground, took off his shoes and socks and said ‘I’m hot, will someone rub my feet?” Kelty said with a laugh. “He was just so sincere about it.”
Kelty, who spent part of the first week of school reading books like “The Principal from the Black Lagoon,” by Mike Thaler and “The Principal’s New Clothes” by Stephanie Calmenson to different classes, can’t help but thank his Austintown colleagues for their support and continued efforts. As a graduate of Fitch High School, Kelty feels privileged to be serving the district he attended.
“All those guys I respected, I don’t want to let them down,” Kelty said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself. It’s my turn. It’s my watch.”
Kelty’s goals for the year include maintaining the “excellent” rating the district achieved at the end-of-the-year state report cards.
“We’re very proud of that,” he said. “I don’t want to lose any ground. We want to continue to move ahead.”