It really isn’t the long meetings, the boring paperwork, or the administrative strong arm that makes Roger Sidoti a successful principal. It is the little things this man does that make his job so special to the students he works for. Sidoti considers it his job to care about each student and what each want to get out of high school. He expects his day to be full of the unexpected, while he also understands how important it is to have some structure.

“Your job is one of constant interruptions… you’ve got to relish that,” said Sidoti

Sidoti stays on top of the huge amount of things he does every day by using his day planner as a lifeline. This book tells him what he needs to be doing. Sidoti explained his schedule to be a mix of what he can control in the time of the day when he gives over control of his schedule to whoever needs his time. He lives his day “as chunks,” a balance between being busy and being available for unpredicted problems. His day from 6:30 to 7:00 a.m. is his planning time. He looks over his schedule and prepares for his day. From 7:00-7:45 a.m. Sidoti tries to keep his schedule open, understanding that this is probably going to be the only time of the day parents can meet with him if they work. He also takes this time to greet students at the front door. He tries to help out at the tardy table in this time a lot as well. From then on out his schedule is a mix of the planned and unplanned. If something comes up, Sidoti understands he needs to not be so busy that he can’t acknowledge it, yet he also has meetings he has to attend. After school he may be found attending school board meetings or attending school functions, and makes it a priority to go to bed by 11:00PM.

“I think it’s a friendly gesture…[it] builds student principal relationships,” says senior Riane Ghamrawi. Mr. Sidoti greets every student that walks by him. He greets the older students by name, cracks jokes with students, and asks student athletes and coaches about their games. Mr. Sidoti gives off the impression that he wants students to talk to him at this time if they are having any problems.

“I stand by the front door to get the pulse of the school,” Sidoti said. When getting this pulse, he can tell by everyone’s body language how the day is going to be. He watches for tension and makes it his goal to ease it. Standing by the door allows him to know each student’s face. He also makes challenges for himself, “Some freshmen do not even look when I say hi, and I make sure to work on these students. I make it a priority to say hi to them, and I find, that by senior, they say hi back. Just because someone is young you should still acknowledge them.”

Students also respect that Sidoti spends time after school continuing his support of their extra curricular activities. He can be seen at almost every basketball game, choir, band or orchestra concert, special awards ceremonies, plays, anything students are in.

“[It is my job to] support the efforts of all of our students. It is an obligation to attend events, but I enjoy it. High school is the last place where people are encouraged to perform,” Sidoti said.

Another part of Mr. Sidoti’s job is community involvement, something the students of Roosevelt really never get an opportunity to really see. Sidoti comments that if he expects his students to lead balanced lives, he needs to be an example of that as well, not only being a prominent member of the school community, but also of Kent in general. He spends time working on getting the school levy, coming up on the ballot in the next election, to pass by selecting people in the community and asking them to write letters promoting the levy. He also is a member of the Kent Rotary club, which describes itself as, “…a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world.” Rotary club actually visited Roosevelt on December 13. The club had heard so many good things about Roosevelt from Sidoti, wanted to see what it was all about. Rotarians, in all seriousness asked Mr. Sidoti after the tour, if he had had an assembly to encourage students to be on their best behavior for when they came. Mr. Sidoti actually laughed when retelling this story. The prospect of warning students to be good, and not just of expecting it of them, seemed to be ridiculous. He trusts students to act good at all times, not on special occasions. And this trust seems to pay off, when discussing student behavior, Sidoti does not have many complaints.

Sidoti’s job is composed of a mix of being fun and serious, community and school, having flexibility and being pre-planned, and trusting and loving students. Sidoti puts just as much into Roosevelt as he expects to get out.

“Every day, as I drive down Roosevelt Drive, I start smiling and I just don’t know why.” He takes this as a sign that this is where he is supposed to be.