Winston Salem Times

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools issued the following announcement on October 25.

OCTOBER 25, 2021 – As a young child, Donald Wyatt already knew that, when he grew up, he wanted to have a job helping people.

By the time he was in the sixth grade, he knew he wanted to do that by becoming a teacher.

“I just loved the thought of helping people learn,” Wyatt said.

These days, Wyatt helps people learn – and serves them in many other ways as well – as the principal at East Forsyth Middle.

Those who know Wyatt hold him in high regard.

“Talking about Donald is easy,” said Superintendent Tricia McManus.

“Donald is a passionate educator who brings strength, positivity, and laughter to the workplace.”

“He believes that every student can and will be successful if provided with the right supports and environment for learning. He deeply cares about his students and staff, and he demonstrates this care in the way he shows up every day.”

Wyatt 50“He holds himself and others to the highest of expectations. He is an outstanding principal and leader.”

Wyatt was chosen to be the principal at East Forsyth Middle after Dossie Poteat retired. Wyatt assumed his responsibilities in April 2020 – a challenging time to start because the coronavirus pandemic meant that students and staff members had had to stop coming to school in person.

He is delighted that everyone is back in school now. He makes a point to interact with students throughout the day. When he can, he joins students for lunch. When he goes on field trips, he rides the bus with them.

An important part of being able to inspire and help students is getting to know them as individuals and seeing what factors play a role in their ability to learn and enjoy life.

“Nobody’s recipe is the same,” he said. “The secret is knowing the kids.”

So he talks to them about life at home, the sports they enjoy, things they like or don’t like.

Wyatt also wants to do everything he can to support teachers and other staff members. One way he does that is to encourage them to share their thoughts.

Wyatt 36“I do a lot of listening,” he said.

Wyatt has served at schools in the Kernersville area since he joined Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools in 2010 as a teacher at Union Cross Elementary. After earning a master’s degree in School Administration, he became the assistant principal at Sedge Garden Elementary in 2013. In 2016, he became the principal there.

Wyatt and his family live about 3 minutes from East Forsyth Middle.

“I’m a Kernersville boy,” he said.

Megan Houston is the Instructional Facilitator at Sedge Garden Elementary.

“I would say his strengths are his optimism and his willingness to do anything for the sake of children,” Houston said.

“He has a heart for all kids and his motivation each day is to find ways to ensure they are successful – academically behaviorally, socially.”

Wyatt 31“He has a contagious positive personality where you can't help but be in a good mood when he is around. He is always seeking to find ways to make your day.... this includes students and staff!”

“He is relentless. When he sets a goal, he will follow it through until it is achieved. He never stops problem-solving to find what is in the best interest of children. He inspires students and staff to do their very best each day and to come ready to give it their all. Anyone that attends his school – students and staff – is blessed to have his leadership.”  

“Outside of the school, he never meets a stranger. He makes everyone feel that they have known him for years and has a genuine empathy for those around him.  He is passionate and enthusiastic about life.  He is constantly on the go... thinking and putting into action those thoughts that benefit the community around him.”

“He has the heart of a child, always ready for the next adventure!”

Wyatt was born in Philadelphia. His family soon moved to Houston. They came to Durham when he was 11. He is the third of Ed and Kathy Wyatt’s four sons.

Although Wyatt’s mother was a teacher and his father taught between such jobs in the business world as working for Sears, Wyatt traces his desire to become a teacher to being the third of four boys in his family.

Wyatt 53He thinks of himself as “a classic third child.”

“We are always the peacekeepers and the helpers,” he said.

In the years that followed his realization that he wanted to become a teacher, he worked at summer camps for students with special needs and in other ways, and the desire to become a teacher became even stronger.

When it came to academics, Wyatt was an average student. It was not until he took physics in high school that a passion for academics was ignited. For that, he thanks his physics teacher, Ted Oakley.

“He enabled me to understand it,” Wyatt said.

After graduating from high school, Wyatt headed off to East Carolina University. There, he majored in Elementary Education with a concentration in psychology and graduated 2003.

He wanted to teach students in elementary school because elementary school can be where a student might be lost or where the student can find the motivation to succeed.

Donald 56Wyatt began his teaching career in the eastern part of the state with Craven County Schools. He and his wife, Katy, met when they both started working at the same school on the same day. She was a School Counselor, and he was a fourth-grade teacher.

After teaching elementary school in Craven County for seven years, he came here.

Karen Morning Roseboro is the Chief of Choice and Magnet Schools for WS/FCS.

“One strength he brings to the job is he is an alum of East Carolina University, which produces some of the strongest educators in the State of North Carolina!” Roseboro said.

“In addition, his passion for excellence and equity in providing students with a high-quality educational experience is contagious among all that he comes in contact with, as evidenced by his Bowtie behavior program.”

“Donald is very personable and professional and represents not only his school but also our district as an educator. He can bring diverse groups together to buy into his vision for educational excellence for all students regardless of their ZIP code. “

“He is creative and innovative, and I am thankful that the East Forsyth Middle School Ravens experience his leadership for great programming that engages the entire family.”

“What I love most about Mr. Wyatt is his leadership goes beyond the school walls. He is a fantastic Lacrosse Coach for the Kernersville Cannons! His laughter and joy in adversity is a rare gift that he has!”

Sharp 78Wyatt has a reputation for looking sharp. On a Friday, he may dress casually. Other days, though, it’s a given that he will be wearing a tie or bowtie. Asked how many ties and bowties he owns, Wyatt said, he couldn’t say for sure but it could be 50 bowties and another 50 ties.

The Wyatts have two children. Virginia is freshman at East Forsyth High, and Andrew is in the sixth grade at Kernersville Middle.

On his own time, Wyatt focuses on spending time with his family. Often, they spend their time together outdoors. That might be hiking in the mountain or fishing at the coast.

Even on his own time, his reading usually has something to do with his work and his goals for servging students and staff.

“I mostly only read leadership books,” Wyatt said.

“I’m trying to find something I can do to help teachers and students.”

He finds working with students as rewarding today as he ever did.

“When you see a child succeed through your help, it fills your heart,” he said.

“It allows me to see I have a purpose in life.”

His immediate goals are “to make sure everybody has the resources they need to be successful.”

As for his long-term goals, Wyatt said, “My goals are to be the best I can be today.”

“I truly, truly love what I do.”

Shiwanah Bangham is the Assistant Principal of Instruction at East Forsyth Middle.

When it comes to his gifts as a person, Bangham puts Wyatt’s humility at the top of the list.

“If he gets it wrong or feels he could or should have made a different decision, he is willing to admit it,” she said. “With students or adults, it does not matter.”  

Asked about the strengths he brings to his job, Bangham said, “the energy he brings every day to this building should be bottled; pun intended.”

“The loud ‘Goooooood mornnnnnning, Raaaavens!’ is his signature greeting each morning (afternoon) on the PA system.”

“Wyatt is hard-working and truly cares about students and the educational opportunities they receive. He truly wants the best for every student we serve here at EFMS. He can lead the school while also being willing to clean up a spill if he sees it.”

“Within the first couple months of coming to East Forsyth Middle, he said, ‘I don't want you to agree with everything I say or suggestion I have.’ And I don't, lol. But his willingness to hear the dissenting opinion or consider other ideas from the team, is something that I appreciate about his leadership.”  

Original source can be found here.