They say in this community, we’re a giant family. Well, one night, a teenage girl was driving home from something in town and she flipped her car into the ditch on one of these infamous back roads. One of the teachers from Marcus Whitman, where she went to school, pulled over when he saw the accident, called for help, and made sure she got home safely. That girl was my older sister Martha, and that teacher was our principal Alan DeGroote. Needless to say, he’s been helping students in my family alone in many ways for a very long time! Mr. DeGroote is retiring at the end of this year, and I had the chance to sit down and talk to him about his life and his time here at Marcus Whitman.

Mr. DeGroote grew up in Manchester, New York and attended Red Jacket. "When I graduated, I believe it was the last year of the Eisenhower Administration," he joked in our interview. Originally he had plans to go to school in Missouri, but he ended up enrolling at FLCC and transferring to Oswego. Mr. DeGroote had an interest in teaching from a very young age and got his Master’s degree at Nazareth and his Certificate of Advanced Study at Brockport. Right out of college, Mr. DeGroote was a long term sub at Baldwinsville, where he had student taught, and after a little while being a substitute teacher he came to Marcus Whitman.

He liked it here from the first day. "There’s just a positive atmosphere about this place," he said with a smile. Mr. DeGroote was a social studies teacher and got to teach all levels 7^th grade through 12^th. He says there were many memorable moments about teaching and working as principal at Marcus Whitman, but as he looked back he noted the best parts were "remembering students who struggled at success, but kept at it, and helping them," and "helping students who’ve made mistakes get back on the right track and move forward."

He says he was inspired by his parents as he worked here, because they were "hard-working people" that set a good example for him. When asked what he’ll miss the most, he said "The kids, working with the adults in the building and working towards goals." But, he told me he definitely won’t miss "the anxieties of budgets!"

As he retires, Mr. DeGroote is looking forward to "being able to do what I want when I want" and "not being tied to as many deadlines." He says he’s hoping to travel with his wife, but he does "plan on working after a couple months."

It is certain the Marcus Whitman family won’t be the same without Mr. DeGroote! I asked him if he had any advice to leave behind, to which he said, "Always keep moving forward. Keep looking out for one another and keep the Whitman family atmosphere… and Go ‘Cats!" Congratulations on all your accomplishments and your retirement Mr. DeGroote and good luck in your future as you move on!