A Changing Of The Guard At The John Marshall Elementary School

Friday, January 27, will be Chris Tracey’s last day as principal of the John Marshall Elementary School in East Hampton before he retires. On Monday, January 30, Gina Kraus, who is the assistant principal, will take over.

“It’s almost been a co-principalship from the start,” said Mr. Tracey recently when the two sat down in Ms. Kraus’s office—it was said to be the neater one—for an interview.

During his career as an educator, Mr. Tracey taught physical education and health on Shelter Island, where he was also athletic director; he was also assistant principal in Springs, athletic director in East Hampton, an interim principal at East Hampton High School and an assistant principal at the East Hampton Middle School. He’s taught kids from kindergarten to 12th grade and was even able to hand the diplomas from East Hampton High School to his own two children, Shannon, now 26, and Christopher Jr., now 23. After almost 17 years in the East Hampton School District, he’s about halfway through a second year as John Marshall principal.

“This is Chris’s favorite stop,” Ms. Kraus said.

“It’s such a great age, where you can shape and mold them before they get into established patterns,” said Mr. Tracey, who plans to promote healthy living and good sportsmanship by giving talks for the American Athletic Institute, a nonprofit organization, after he retires.

“We try to laugh every day,” he said, explaining that just going into a kindergarten class on a bad day with a smile, one can instill “a sense of gratitude.”

As he prepares to take leave of the elementary school, Mr. Tracey said, he’s been meeting with everyone from custodians to aides to teachers “and giving them a pat on the back, as individuals, to say thank you in a one-on-one manner.”

He said he liked “the opportunity to work with Gina” and that “we complement each other. She’s very organized and I’m cluttered,” he said, and “Gina has more exposure in curriculum,” after teaching 21 years, mostly in East Hampton.

She, in turn, said, “It’s been a privilege to work with Chris.”

“I would consider myself ... it’s like a coaching situation,” Mr. Tracey said, adding that he really tries to motivate teachers. He said he learned from Peter Lisi, a former Springs School superintendent, the importance of visiting classrooms often—with the teachers’ understanding that “we’re looking for the good.”

That “opens up a greater sense of trust,” Mr. Tracey said, and also “allows us to get to know the students.”

In addition to being an elementary teacher, Ms. Kraus has been training teachers for 12 years with the Northeast Foundation for Children. She said she prefers to call herself a teacher, or a teacher of teachers, rather than an administrator. Her hope, she said, is that all the children love coming to school, that they love learning and that they’re happy and healthy.

“And safe,” Mr. Tracey chimed in.

Over the years, he said, he’s seen pressure on children, particularly from social media, to grow up faster than they used to. “Eighth-graders are very similar to the 12th graders when I started,” he said. “A lot of them are just not ready. It’s sad.”

Among the continuing challenges at the elementary school, in particular, will be changes in literacy curriculum as well as in the student population, whose needs run the gamut from English language education to special education to enrichment.

“We’re seeing lots of students with significant needs,” Mr. Tracey said, which Ms. Kraus said could be a reflection of the economy.

Mr. Tracey said financial pressures may be leaving parents with less time to spend with their children. That means there are more social and emotional aspects to be addressed at the elementary school.

Dan Hartnett, a social worker at the school, will take over the assistant principal slot when Ms. Kraus steps into Mr. Tracey’s shoes. Mr. Hartnett is bilingual and, Mr. Tracey said, “wonderful with reaching out to families” such as by making home visits. Mr. Hartnett’s experience as a summer school principal and former member of the Sag Harbor School Board should prove valuable, Mr. Tracey said.

He and Ms. Kraus have already been including Mr. Harnett in decision-making.

Mr. Tracey emphasized that he and Ms. Kraus have had a good run, that they share ideas and have “very similar philosophies about kids.”

“We’ve had fun doing it,” he said of working together at the elementary school.

“My last week here is going to be a rough one, like Dorothy leaving Oz,” Mr. Tracey said. “I’m really going to miss the kids and staff.”