Jon Peters said he can spot whether a teacher will be ef­fective in the classroom.

A good teacher, first and foremost, will have a love for the kids, he said.

“They’ve got to build the relationships with the kids,” he said. “You don’t do that – you’re done. You’re not go­ing to have any success.”

On the junior high school level, where Jon Peters is an administrator, teachers have to possess knowledge of the subject matter, but subject matter can be learned. Ulti­mately, it’s the connection with children that matters, Peters said.

He has had plenty of years to determine the attributes of a skilled, successful teacher. Peters, the only principal to serve Wylie ISD’s McMillan Junior High School, has announced his retirement after more than three decades in the school district. His retirement is effective at the end of this school year.

Peters started at the school in 2003, when it opened for fifth through seventh grades with an enrollment of 825, said Ian Halperin, Wylie ISD director of communications. The school is a seventh- and eighth-grade campus that now has 919 students.

For the full story, see the April 7 issue or subscribe online.

By Don Munsch • [email protected]