From the cop car to the classroom: Meet Duane Fish, the new principal at BHS

Published 9:23 am Wednesday, September 2, 2015

For a guy who used to be a cop, Duane Fish is surprisingly mellow.

In fact, the newly hired Bainbridge High School principal is quick to point out that, contrary to what most students seem to believe, disciplinary action is a very small part of his job.

And he likes it that way.

“[It’s] the largest misconception that freshman have – or any student, really. And I hope to change that in the culture here,” he said.

“I’m not here strictly for discipline. I’m here to help craft a culture that allows them to succeed at whatever it is they want to do in life,” Fish said.

Fish was previously the principal of Lawrence Junior/Senior High School in Lawrence, Michigan, a school which had seen mixed student achievement prior to his arrival in 2012.

It was the improvements he was able to usher in there with the help of the staff, he said, which made him a contender for such a choice post as the top educator at BHS.

“I taught for six years and then I left the classroom to become an administrator,” he said. “Bainbridge is one of the best high schools in the country. I guess you could look at it in one of two ways, either my leadership [in Lawrence] helped in [those improvements] – and I think that’s what Bainbridge believed and that’s why they brought me in. Or, I just got lucky and that staff helped me get to my dream job, which quite honestly is right here.”

Prior to pursuing a career in education, Fish worked with young people in a very different capacity.

“I was with Seattle Police from 1993 to 2006 and I worked in various aspects of the department,” he said. “I finished up as a detective in the juvenile section down south.”

Though his time spent on the force often comes up, Fish said his experiences there have less influence on his leadership style than most would think.

“Some people might look at it like, ‘Here’s a principal who’s an officer,’ or something along those lines,” he said.

“But, in reality, I made that transition [to teaching] almost a decade ago. I’m an educator first. The officer or law enforcement aspect of things is what got me into education, through career and technical education that’s where I got my start – teaching criminal justice – so I used it as a conduit to get into something far more positive.”

Fish was announced as the new BHS principal earlier this year and officially took the reins early last month from interim principal Mary Alice O’Neill.

He is the school’s fourth top Spartan in as many years – Brent Peterson retired and then Jake Haley accepted a new job in California before O’Neill stepped in temporarily.

However, if some BHS students are maybe starting to feel the twinge of oncoming abandonment issues, Fish is ready with some reassurance.

“I don’t envision dong anything else,” he said. “I love being a principal and Bainbridge High School is the perfect storm of small community, a large comprehensive high school with strong resources, and support from the community.

“I have no plans of leaving,” he laughed.

Bainbridge is a bit different, Fish said.

“Most time, when you see a comprehensive high school this size, it’s in a large urban setting or in a sprawling suburban setting,” he explained. “So, to find this small community feel where we can really connect with our students, I think that’s where the academic achievement really comes from. Our teachers really know the kids here. In most schools this size and larger, that’s a rare thing.

“That’s what made this job the one that I wanted the most.”

Fish and his wife, a University of Washington graduate and social worker with Kitsap Mental Health, moved to the island in June. They have two sons, age 22 and 20. The oldest plays baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization and the youngest recently graduated from Pierce College.

“My truest passion, in terms of away from the job, is my family,” Fish said, adding that he also likes to run and has been spending much of his free time before the start of school discovering his new neighborhood that way.

“I don’t look like a lean distance runner by any stretch of the imagination,” he laughed. “But I like to jog and stay active.”

In describing the style of leadership he intends to bring to BHS, Fish said he would characterize it as collaborative.

“I like working with teams of teachers,” he said. “You can’t affect change by dictating things; it just won’t work. My job is to lead the staff into being the best team we could possibly become.”

Fish said he has found the atmosphere at BHS to be remarkably friendly among both the staff and students so far, having overseen student registration last week while making the rounds and introducing himself to the student body.

“I firmly believe that being in education is a lifestyle, not a job,” Fish said. “I’m starting to get to know people on the staff, and that’s one thing I am thoroughly impressed with: they are not complacent individuals. They’re willing to change and they’re willing to do what’s best for the kids.”

Having recently been ranked in the top 500 high schools in the nation by two prominent news outlets, BHS could be seen as something of a double-edged sword for Fish: If things go well, it’s business as usual at BHS. If they don’t, the only thing that changed is him.

It’s a situation he said he was well aware of when accepting the job.

“It’s almost stepping into a no-win situation,” he said. “I don’t anticipate going backward, that’s not the way I operate. We’re going to go forward.

“There are thousands of high schools around the United States that would love to be in the position that we are,” he said. “But, as you can see, there are hundreds ahead of us.”

Ensuring every student gets the most out of their education is the ultimate goal of teaching at any level, Fish said, and the key to improving BHS’ already impressive national ranking and reputation.

“Bainbridge is pretty good at that,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get better.

“My primary job is to make sure like students feel like this is their school,” he added. “That we, as a team, are working hard to make sure they have what they need to be successful.”