As a student at Kearsley High School, it’s hard not to notice a change of management. As we said farewell to Mr. Wiskur, we now are welcoming Dr. Ersig as our new principal. Each class was briefly introduced to Dr. Ersig at their code of conduct meetings, but nothing substantial to actually form an opinion. I’ll admit, most people were not thrilled with the change —people never are— but after speaking to him, I feel as though he is exactly the change the high school needs.
It became apparent as I spoke with him, Dr. Ersig values community and connection above all else. I asked him questions about his favorite aspects of Kearsley, and time and time again, he said the community. He voiced his excitement to build connections with a new group of people, inspire the community, and forge better relationships between staff, students, and himself. He proclaimed he was “a teacher at heart” which stood true the longer he spoke. He values education and the growth students make alongside teachers. As much as he loves to be in the classroom, he also said he loves the “wide reach… the connections that we’re building right now,” of the principal aspect. It became clear over time, Dr. Ersig is focused on the community.
As we can tell —both by his doctorate and the way he carries himself— Dr. Ersig is very well educated and very experienced. The most telling part of Dr. Ersig is the passion he had when talking about education. He spoke about his Mom, her impact upon him as a kid and further into his life, and shared that he wants to instill the same love of learning into every kid possible. He said it best himself: “Right, so that’s our job as the educator.. to instill that same love of learning into all of our students.“ He also spoke about his past district, his love of being in the classroom, and how that prepared him to take the next step, saying, “I spent 29 years in Utica, so yeah a lot of good friends there but… I’m really looking forward to rooting down to that again, because as humans we need that stuff.” Talking with him made his passion for teaching, and now the more administrative side, further solidified his experience to me.
With such value in education, it’s not hard to see why he got his doctorate. I asked him what his favorite part of that experience was and his response was, “Finishing… at the end of it you’re just like well it’s nice to be done.” He said that despite it being so rewarding, he’s happy to have his life back a little. While talking to him, I learned his two main values: education and connection. He very obviously has taken these to heart and plans to implement them into Kearsley.
I am extremely grateful to have sat down with Dr. Ersig and interviewed him. He proved himself to be down to earth, funny, and genuinely kind. I am extremely excited for the new era of Kearsley High School, and I can confidently say he is too.
