On Thursday, October 3rd, Mr. Shipp was announced as the Wake County Assistant Principal of the Year for 2024-2025! Shipp has worked in the district for 21 years, but wasn’t always an assistant principal. He started his career as a math teacher at Garner High School, later becoming an assistant principal at East Wake Magnet High School. In 2015 he joined the Millbrook staff, and from there it’s been history. For winning this prestigious award he was given a $100 gift card to Angus Barn, a check for $500, a signed Carolina Hurricanes hockey stick and t-shirt, and a Chick-fil-A gift bag.
While the students of Millbrook know “Lord Shipp’s” title, they don’t know who he really is and what he does. I too did not know all of his work at Millbrook, and wanted to find it out for all of us. To get information, I talked to faculty that would know most about Mr. Shipp. They were interviewed one by one and asked the same five questions. They varied from about their time at Millbrook and how Mr. Shipp has affected their time at Millbrook to their favorite memories spent with him. Many interesting things were shared over the interviews that gave insightful information about Mr. Shipp. Often when we think about our faculty and staff, we only see them as a teacher or a superior, when they are so much more than that. Let’s look into Mr. Shipp!
I talked to three people in the front office. They included Ms. Patterson, Dr. Kaiser, and Dr. Saunders. They have all had numerous years working with Mr. Shipp and are some of the staff most involved with him on a regular basis.
The first person I interviewed was Ms. Patterson, the head secretary. I asked her how long she has worked at Millbrook and she said, “21 years! Yes, the only school I’ve ever worked at.” When asked if she could use one word to describe Shipp, she thought for a second before saying, “Extraordinary…extraordinary because he has the ability and the character and exceeds everybody’s expectations.” She described to me how Mr. Shipp is all around a very empathetic person and always carves out time in his day to make everyone that comes in contact with him feel heard and seen, no matter what his schedule may look like. Her favorite memory about Mr. Shipp is getting “APed”! “Oh gosh, when he does get in his position as AP you don’t ever want him to AP you!” I asked what are signs that this is about to happen and she said when his tone gets low and serious, that’s when you know! She wrapped up her interview with a kind message for Mr. Shipp, “Enjoy the ride, just sit back and enjoy!”
The next person I went to was Dr. Kaiser, the Assistant Principal for Instruction. She has worked here for 2 years, this school year being her third. Being here a shorter time than Ms. Patterson, I asked her about how Mr. Shipp welcomed her here. “Mr. Shipp is the best … ever since day one he has always been a mentor and someone I look to for guidance on pretty much everything.”
Kaiser had many words for Shipp, saying that “essential” is the perfect adjective for his character. “He knows the buildings and the people better than anyone else here at Millbrook.” She added that his biggest impact has been his tremendous work on the Student Equity Team. She said, “His work towards student equity throughout the county and here at school is to ensure that Millbrook becomes more and more equitable day by day.”
The final question I asked Kaiser was about her favorite memory with Mr. Shipp, which she excitedly said, “When he went to accept his award, his first instinct was to sing… it was beautiful to watch him burst into song, extremely moving.” She said Mr. Shipp is a known singer, and sings in a choir. Dr. Kaiser too had kind words for Shipp saying, “He’s one of my favorite AP’s and fully deserves this accolade, congratulations!”
The last person I interviewed was our principal, Dr. Saunders. He was very eager to do his interview because he wants people to know Mr. Shipp better. “Majority of the time when a student is dealing with an assistant principal, they’re in trouble.” Saunders has been here since May of 2022, and said it’s been a pleasure to work with Shipp the last two years.
Saunders went on to describe Shipp as his right hand. “He’s like my Chief of Staff in relation to the president, the person who I go to for questions in relation to Millbrook… he brings an incredible amount of experience.” When he described him in one word, he immediately said joyful. He delved into the question by saying, “Even after so many years with other people’s children, and all those behaviors and everything that comes with being assistant principal, he has remained very joyful. Very rarely will anyone see him upset. Just so full of joy.”
Like Dr. Kaiser, he says that Mr. Shipp’s biggest impact on Millbrook is being equitable. In his own words he said, “He makes sure that when decisions are made, they are fair to each and every student at Millbrook. He thinks through how it might impact every student, and is very meticulous in doing so. He models a tremendous work ethic for our students.” His favorite memory with Mr. Shipp was at the alumni event held for 100 years of Millbrook. He enjoyed reminiscing about how Mr. Shipp had been the master of ceremonies and how he “owned the mic.” He said he gave everyone a good time that evening and enjoyed their high school reunion.
After interviewing these faculty members, it was enjoyable to get to know more about Mr. Shipp. I learned new things about him, like he sings and works on the equity team at Millbrook. Mr. Shipp deserves this title as Assistant Principal of the Year due to all of his hard work around the school and the county. Congratulations, Mr. Shipp!
