Emily Sommer Photography
Andrew Theado and his wife, Natalie
The community of Upper Arlington is like one big family – and as someone who grew up in a big family, Upper Arlington High School Principal Andrew Theado understands that better than most.
“I’m one of six kids,” he says. “My mom has 22 grandchildren, but my extended family, I’ve got 24 first cousins on one side, 19 on the other.”
From growing up in UA and now raising his four kids here with his wife, Natalie, Theado has created decades of great memories in the area.
“Some of my favorite memories are involving the neighborhoods and the community, whether it’s the Fourth of July or just being outside with our kids, it’s the community feel to Upper Arlington,” he says.
That community aspect is what he most looked forward to this year with the new high school, which celebrated its grand opening Aug. 15. Throughout the numerous design phases, community and staff volunteers came together for community forums and many even joined the Community Building Design Team which was heavily involved in the planning process. Theado was part of that collaborative effort working with students, community members, teachers and designers.
“The folks involved with the design did an exceptional job of designing a high school that is 110,000 square feet bigger than our current high school and making it very efficient and smart and focused on teaching and learning,” he says. “The design is amazing. There’s so much more opportunity for innovation, for cross-disciplinary work, for showcasing our arts, for showcasing athletics. It is a building for our community.”
After being part of the years-long process of building the new high school, Theado says he’s immensely grateful to the community for its continued support and involvement with the project.
“I want to give thanks to the community for making the new high school happen,” Theado says. “I can’t emphasize enough how fortunate we are to be able to work in this community and serve the young people in this community.”
Family Man
Balancing his career with raising four kids isn’t easy – seventh-grader Drew, fourth-grader Marilia, third-grader Dante and first-grader Rocco are all involved with athletics on top of maintaining their good grades, which makes for a very busy schedule.
“I couldn’t do what I do without my wife,” Theado says. “We have a very busy schedule but it’s very rewarding.”
Between sports and extracurriculars, Theado says his busy family is similar to everyone else’s.
“I’ve grown up with family and that’s all I know,” he says. “I’m used to being busy and I’m used to people being around all the time and that social aspect. Family’s most important.”
As principal, Theado says there’s no typical day on the job, but starting a new school year at the end of a pandemic as well as in an entirely new building is a new level of atypical. But that’s not all that’s different for Theado this school year.
“This year will be new for me – I’m going to be co-teaching a class with Laura Moore, one of our teachers,” he says. “What we are co-teaching is a leadership class, so I’m really excited for it.”
During the 2020-21 school year, Theado and Moore led a three-day leadership workshop with about 30 students.
The new leadership class builds off the workshop and aims to prepare students for life in college, in the workplace and beyond.
“The vision of Upper Arlington Schools is to prepare students to serve, to lead and be successful,” Theado says. “So, to prepare them to lead, we need to offer opportunities where we are actually preparing them to lead. What better way to prepare them than to teach them about leadership?”
Theado had firsthand experience building up his own leadership skills when he first became a principal in 2014. He says he was surprised by the complexity of the position.
“Getting to know all the different stakeholders – being the parents, community members, students, teachers – and navigating all the different wants and needs of all those folks and then aligning those things and aligning that work to the board of education, that’s the biggest learning curve that I had as a brand new principal,” he says. “Now, I really embrace it. I enjoy it. I think it’s fun, but people might not realize how complex these leadership positions are.”
Along with the surprises, being a high school principal comes with its own set of challenges and rewards.
“Hands down, the best aspect of my job is working with our kids – young adults – and our community,” Theado says. “They teach me things and they make me continue to evolve as a leader.”
Rising Up
Like every student who walks the halls of UAHS, Theado had big aspirations for his future. And while he says some of his dreams were lofty, one in particular still led to a lifelong passion.
Courtesy of Andrew Theado
“When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a firefighter,” Theado says. “As I got older, my dream job became even more unrealistic and I wanted to be a professional baseball player.”
Though he didn’t make it to Major League Baseball and he entered Wright State University as an undecided major, the choices he made set him on the right path in the end. It was at Wright State where he took a course that changed everything.
“I took an intro biology course and the professor I had was Dr. Dan Green at Wright State University,” he says. “I fell in love with biology, specifically genetics.”
Even then, his journey to the perfect career wasn’t quite over.
“When I graduated, I worked in a lab at school, which was really interesting, but really boring,” he says, laughing. “Even though I’m more introverted, I do need to be around people a little bit, and working at a lab just didn’t do it for me. That’s when I got the idea of going back to school, getting my education degree.”
Theado took a year to do some substitute teaching and attended The Ohio State University to pursue a master’s in science education. Shortly after, he was hired as a science teacher at Upper Arlington High School.
As if going back for a master’s in teaching wasn’t enough school, Theado decided to pursue a second master’s degree – this time in educational administration from Ashland University. After that, he took on the job of assistant principal in 2011 before rising up to be the top dog – or rather, the top golden bear.
“When I was a teacher, I told myself I would never be a principal, but here I am,” he says. “So, I never say never anymore.”
For now, though, it’s safe to say Theado is enjoying his role as UAHS principal.
“The teachers and the educators that work at the high school are amazing,” he says. “I’m just very thankful to have worked with and to continue to work with these professionals, people who are really good at what they do. It makes my job so much easier.”
Sarah Robinson is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
