KENNEBUNK — Jeff Rodman, the current principal at the Middle School of the Kennebunks, has been in the educational system for 41 years and has announced his retirement at the end of the current school year.

Rodman has spent 24 years of his career in education of in administration, and 23 of those as a school principal. He started his administrative career in Wells where he spent his first nine years as a principal.

He logged four years as the principal at Falmouth Middle School for the last 10 years of his career has blessed the Kennebunk School system with his boisterous presence.

During his time at the Middle School of the Kennebunks, Rodman has come to multiple conclusions about his experience there, like, “Working at MSK has been a special experience.”

It has been Rodman’s philosophy that people should enjoy coming into school, not just students, but parents, faculty, and staff as well.

He said it’s also his belief that a quality of a good school is to support students’ success and to remember that success isn’t measured only by academic achievement but also social and physical growth.

“I know that we do serious business, but we can’t take ourselves too seriously,” Rodman said.

At MKS, it is their goal to not only make sure that students are learning the academic material but how to be a responsible citizen as well, he said.

According to Rodman, instructors also ensure that students know that it is not only okay to make mistakes, but to also learn from them as well.

Rodman said that he has seen people get bitter about their jobs after staying in one place for a long time and that he doesn’t want to be one of those people.

“The time was right for me to make this decision,” he said.

He just isn’t sure where he’ll be going or what he’ll be doing next, but Rodman said that he wants to work after his time as a principal has come to an end.

When asked what his favorite memory of MSK was, Rodman describes a feeling of “a positive spirit” when he walks into the school every morning.

He finds middle schools to be calming, as to what some people might believe to be the excessive business of a beehive.

In describing how he feels about leaving MSK, Rodman offered a simple explanation.

“If I could paint a picture of what a middle school should be, it would be MSK,” he said.

Rodman says he feels fortunate to have and to be working with great staff, faculty, and students.

Students response to the principal’s departure held sadness and foreshadowed longing. 

Seventh-graders Dylan Rodgers, Alexis Dow, and Andrew Atwater all commented about how they were mesmerized by how Rodman dressed up as an elf to reward the students after a fundraiser.

Eighth-grader Samantha McGrath explained how when she had tripped over herself, only to be caught by Rodman and for him to make a joke of it once she had been righted.

Lydia Highbarger, another eighth grader, reminisced about Rodman’s eye-opening performance in “Annie.”