A School Janitor Worked His Way Up to Principal

A guy named Michael Atkins grew up in Denver.  And his first full-time job was working as a janitor at a middle school on the east side of the city.

He says he took a lot of pride in it, and actually enjoyed the work.  But he didn’t want to be a janitor forever.

Then he ran into his favorite teacher from second grade.  And they managed to get him a job working as a teacher’s aide.

He loved it, and eventually became a teacher.  And now years later, he’s worked his way all the way up to PRINCIPAL.

He just got hired as the principal at an elementary school on the same side of town as the school where he worked as a custodian.

He says his teachers didn’t always treat him the same as other kids, because he’s black.  So one of his goals is to create an environment where kids can really embrace diversity.

And he thinks rising up through the ranks like he did gives him a unique perspective on education.

(11Alive)