Innovative, ambitious, and encouraging—Mr. Dwight L. Arscott is currently Miami High’s 10^th grade assistant principal.

Being an Assistant Principal

Mr. Arscott’s motivation to become an assistant principal was to help children succeed and help them go to college. “The quickest way to help a financially unstable family is to get their kids an education so they can go to college, make money, and change their lives,” he said.

Just like any other job, being an assistant principal also has its ups and downs. “One of the perks would be that I get to know all 3,000 students, while teachers only get to know 150 of them,” he said. “On the other hand, the disadvantage is the paperwork.”

Everyone has an ideal school environment, especially educators. Mr. Arscott’s would be one where students weren’t so worried about competing on who dresses better or about social media. He said, “I rather have them compete over academics instead of nonsense.”

When he comes across a challenge with a student, he assesses the problem to determine what’s in the best interest for the student, and tries to work towards the best solution. “You have to think of it as if they were your own children because you want what’s best for them, and with that mindset, you can’t go wrong,” Mr. Arscott said.

His advice to new teachers would be that you can’t just be an educator; you also have to be a parent, a counselor, and  a coach for this generation. “Most importantly, you have to be a motivator,” said Mr. Arscott. “Many kids aren’t internally motivated to learn anymore; we have to be able to motivate them externally.”

Jobs Before Becoming an Assistant Principal

One of his strengths as a worker, he believes would be that he listens and follows directions very well. Before becoming an assistant principal, Mr. Arscott used to work at Parkway Middle as a science teacher, then as a science coach in Parkway Elementary. He also used to work for the U.S. State Department as a diplomatic officer.

During high school he worked at aircraft landing gear repair shop.

One lesson that he learned from his previous jobs would be that customer service skills take you far in any job, and it’s still a technique, as well as patience, that he uses nowadays. “You learn how to not hold grudges; every day is a new day,” he said.

Life Outside of School

An organization that Mr. Arscott is involved with outside of school is a non-profit called “Genius Factory” which teaches children skills in entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (E.S.T.E.A.M.).

He’s most passionate about making money. “The more money you have the more people you could help in the long run,” he said.

He is currently married and has a six-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son. He’s family-oriented and likes to spend time with them by going to the beach, the park, or on trips. In his spare time, he likes to play basketball.

Goals for The Future

Five to ten years from now, Mr. Arscott still sees himself working with the school system. He wanted to have a career that he would enjoy, so he chose to be involved in the education world even though he had many opportunities in other fields, (one of them being basketball).

The reason he did not pursue a basketball career is because he got injured and his team at the time was not paying well, though a team in Dominican Republic did offer him to play for $600 weekly.

Many people would say they still have goals to achieve, but he feels as if he’s achieved them all already. However, he did say, “I’d probably like to see more places around the world and develop an app for tutors.”