A major change will take place for TCS directives, as MS Principal William Pulgarin leaves his job as Principal, with current HS Vice-Principal Matthew Lawrence taking his place. This transition will take place from the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, and the selection process for the new HS Vice-Principal is set to begin in the coming weeks.
“Well I’m hoping to obviously maintain the excellent position that Mr. Pulgarin has got the Middle School in, and just kind of developing it as much as possible, and kind of building on what’s already in place really,” Lawrence said.
Pulgarin has been the Middle School Principal for six years. He has fond memories with the students with different excursions to La Guajira and the Tatacoa Desert, which has developed a positive relationship with the students and their character formation. As of next school year, he will become the director of the Character Counts program at TCS. His position implies working with both TCS and the Character Counts organization directly.
“What I’m going to do is follow my passion. I’m passionate about character education, so I’m going to stay in the school, work in the character education program, and try to see if we can continue to be a leader in Colombia,” Pulgarin said.
Mr. Lawrence will now enter his second year at TCS. His experience during this school year, as well as in other Colombian schools and abroad, will bring a different prospect for the Middle School as a whole, with Lawrence seeking to build on what’s already in place.
“To begin with, I’d like to keep the rules generally the same, and then kind of evaluate. As a new leader, you don’t want to change too much. And then, keep it consistent, have a look as I’m in the role, and then look to maybe for the future if there are any areas that we can improve,” Lawrence said.
Mr. Pulgarin’s new role as Character Counts director brings multiple challenges with it, as this is the first time this role will be in place. He hopes to integrate and build on current progress with the Character Counts program, especially with High School students.
“We know that in Elementary it’s popular. Kids tend to like the character education, you know, the Character Counts program, more… There are actually ways to talk about it K-12, but that’s going to be part of my job. Like, how can you talk about it, the values, with high-schoolers,” Pulgarin said.
As students enter Middle School, they prepare for a new set of learning habits. Mr. Lawrence seeks to collaborate closely with Middle School students to improve their academic performance and prepare them even more for High School, college, and other forms of higher education.
“I have very high standards as well, from my previous schools, and I try to maintain those and keep providing them tools to use in their lessons most effectively, use their devices and try and remain focused on the task, and chunk their time really. Just a few strategies for them to try and succeed and be the very best that they can in Middle School so they come well prepared for the challenges of High School,” Lawrence said.
The upcoming changes reflect the school’s commitment to continuous improvement and fostering a supportive learning environment for students, hence signaling a new chapter in the school’s journey toward academic excellence. For both Mr. Pulgarin and Mr. Lawrence, many aspects will be missed from their current roles. However, many good things are to come from this move.
“One of the things that working in Middle School is every day there is something kids are doing to laugh at, something funny, and I get to stay young with the kids because I’m still in Middle School, and I think that’s what I’m going to miss the most,” Pulgarin said.