Thirty-one years ago, when David Wilcomes first came to work at Union Hill High School in Union City, he was not new to the school. He and his brothers had graduated from there, and his father, the Rev. Harold Wilcomes, had done so, too – in 1933. “We’ve always had a close ties to Union Hill. I think everyone in the family graduated from Union Hill,” said Principal Wilcomes last week of the 116-year-old school.
While still a college student, Wilcomes was invited to return to Union Hill as a football coach. He eventually landed a job there as a social studies teacher, then a department head, and eventually assistant principal. At the end of last year, when the principal of Washington School retired and Union Hill’s then-Principal Bob Wendelken was transferred to Washington to fill the vacancy, Wilcomes became the principal of the school he himself had attended.
Wilcomes clearly loves the job. “I’ve been teaching in this building for 31 years,” he said. “I wouldn’t have stayed [for so long] if it wasn’t such a great place to work.”
His philosophy comes from this background of having gone there himself as well as from years working with students. “I’ve always been involved with the kids. I spend a lot of time with them,” he said. But his attitude toward the principal’s role wasn’t always what it is now. When a student himself, he found the principals “stern and unapproachable. You didn’t want to see the principal, especially because my father knew all of them.” Now, however, he has a different appreciation for those early role models. “Looking back, I think … you’re brought up by them. [They’re] very influential, maybe even more than home. I was very lucky that there were these types of people there for me. You learn to appreciate them afterwards.”
Yet the world we live in now is different from when the principal himself attended Union Hill. Many of the students today shoulder unimaginable burdens. “In a day where these kids have problems we can’t imagine, being a teenager’s the most difficult thing in the world,” Wilcomes said. “We have to solve these problems to help them achieve academically.”
But, Wilcomes added, “If you don’t like kids and don’t understand them, you’re in the wrong profession.”
Goals for this year
A primary goal for the new year is to bring up students’ test scores. Said Wilcomes, “Our first goal is to improve our test scores because, for better or worse, that’s what New Jersey evaluates you on. But we can’t set our goals low – we want to do better than other schools.”
Another major concern, now as ever, is the security and safety of the students. “Safety is our number one concern,” he said. “We have our Community Resource Office and security personnel in the building. They do a great job. I’ve never felt unsafe in this building.” Wilcomes said that while no building is ever perfect, he believes that the constant dialogue he and the staff maintain with the students and the presence of people in the halls minimizes any problems.
The greatest challenge Wilcomes feels he must face is “the everyday social problems the kids have and dealing with them.” But he added how this constantly changing environment “keeps it interesting. A day can move by very quickly. You just have to be able to think on your feet and adjust.”
Adjusting to one reality that the school community must face, a bereavement group was formed to assist students coping with a loss in the family, particularly the loss of a parent. “We run a bereavement group for students who have lost their parents, offering counseling sessions to help them get through,” said Wilcomes.
In addition, the school has a community-centered focus that includes such activities as a senior prom – not a prom for senior level students, but for the senior citizens of Union City. Held each May, the prom gets students involved through the student council. Said Wilcomes, “Our kids do all the decorating and serving of the food.” Also, Wilcomes described how the history club allows students to interact with the veterans. “These projects make the kids appreciate things. Like when they go into that veteran’s home and find out that somebody’s been in that home since World War II – it really brings it home.”
Another program of which Wilcomes is particularly proud is the teen empowerment group, originated three years ago, which assists students who have children. He initially encountered resistance from faculty, but Wilcomes believed that with this program, “The idea isn’t to glorify, it’s acknowledging a reality. We want these kids to graduate.”
Wilcomes said that the best thing about the school is that members of the community all work together. He cited the case of the young man from Union City whose legs were lost in an accident in Hoboken. He referred to how the mayor was immediately at hospital at the young man’s side and how everyone pulled together for the fundraising for the young man.
The close feeling would seem to extend to the Wilcomes family as well. Wilcomes’ brother Gary also teaches at Union Hill.
“I guess deep down, [my father] always hoped one of his sons would wind up at Union Hill,” Principal Wilcomes said.