STRONGER TOGETHER THE POWER OF "WE"

By ANDREA PFEIFER Amarillo High School - Head Principal

I first started working with Coach Dunnam during the fall of 2021. We were reopening schools after the Pandemic shut down, something that no one in our positions had ever done before. We had to navigate, among other things, academic and athletic schedules that extended well beyond our normal seasons, social distancing in large gyms, wearing masks and determining how that worked for athletes on the playing fields and students on buses, and having the first athlete in our school district test positive for COVID at our school. We had a lot of firsts. These experiences taught us the importance of communicating with one another, and we’ve never looked back.

Our partnership works at Amarillo High School because we talk with one another openly about situations involving athletics and academics. We are often asked, “How do you make it work?” One way I do this is I keep a post-it note beside my keyboard with “Coach Dunnam” written at the top. When something comes up that I would like his input on, I write it down. When my list grows to three or four items, I ask him to come and meet with me. Our communication about the school is extremely intentional. We have the same goal in mind at all times: to make Amarillo High School as strong as it can be by taking care of our students and staff. We want our students to excel academically, beyond No Pass, No Play. We want our students to excel on the court or field or stage or wherever they choose to show off because we know that for some, these extracurricular activities are the only reason our students come to school. We want our students prepared with the lessons, those learned both in the classroom but also those learned throughout the school, so that they can succeed after high school. That may seem cliché, but in 2025, with all that we face each day, it is easy to become sidetracked. Coach and I both believe strongly in the Fine Arts, CTE, and all UIL programs that our school offers. Most of our students are involved in multiple programs, and we talk often on how to arrange programs so that students can take full advantage of all that we offer. We are intentional about our master schedule decisions so that a student doesn’t have to choose between basketball and band or soccer and ceramics or swimming and AP Calculus.

We also communicate regularly about hiring. One of the things that Coach Dunnam and I have done together for the past five years is communicate regularly, especially during the Spring as job openings occur, about what we need to hire for. We both look for high quality candidates that approach both their coaching, and their teaching, with a high degree of professionalism. We are both present during each interview, and we talk with applicants about their previous experiences. We ask them what goals they have when considering work at Amarillo High School. In every single interview, Coach impresses upon the new candidate that they are a “teacher first” and that they must handle their classroom responsibilities with the same enthusiasm that they bring to the sport that they coach. Similarly, I also speak about the high expectations and athletic tradition of excellence that exists at our school. We send a message from the very beginning that we are both here to support our staff in their athletic and academic pursuits. We support each other, and our community sees this when I show up to cheer on the sidelines of our football games, and Coach helps greet parents at our academic awards assemblies.

Above all, I think that we have a mutual respect for one another, and we approach every situation with an open mind and a common goal of helping our students. We both maintain a positive outlook, and neither of us is afraid to jump straight into a challenge. While working here, both of our families have had the unique opportunity to watch our oldest children go all the way through Amarillo High. Our children are both athletes and have strong academic pedigrees, and we talk often that we couldn’t be more vested in the school because both of our children benefit from the work that we do. We also both remind each other that we wouldn’t deviate from our expectations even if our children weren’t here. This spring will be bittersweet as we both graduate our oldest children in May, a little sad that they won’t be with us in the fall, but so proud of what they have accomplished. I think that brings things full-circle for the two of us. We have both served in public education for almost thirty years, and it is incredibly fulfilling to work with someone that has the same passion for molding, teaching, and working with students as I do. We both believe strongly in the opportunities that a public education in Texas can open up for a child, especially when they are involved in athletics and activities, as well as academics. We both understand that we need to work together with a shared vision in order to strengthen our campus. We both know that we can’t do it alone, and we need each other to remind us of what is really important, our school community.

Want to read the entire April 2025 issue of Texas Coach magazine? Click here: https://issuu.com/thscacoaches/docs/texas_coach_-_april_2025_-_volume_lxix_no._8?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ