Kenny Silver: Grade 6

I interviewed Mr. Roney Eford, the new Athletics Director and Director of Diversity at Buckley, and he was nice enough to let me ask him a few questions.

The first thing I asked him was: “Why did you come to Buckley?” Mr. Eford came to Buckley because he really connected with Buckley’s mission: to enable students to achieve their potential and become educated and self-confident individuals. He said, “I really connected with the mission of Buckley, and I want to help the school.”

Mr. Eford has two jobs under his hat: as Athletic Director, he told me that he is figuring out what the future of athletics at Buckley will look like. He hired more coaches this year; there are 11 coaches in total right now, including 8 external. He hired external coaches with sporting experience to strengthen the athletic instruction and experience for our students. He is evaluating the athletic programs and will decide what other changes to make.

The next question that I asked him was, “What does the Director of Diversity do?” He said that the Director of Diversity gives support to families and students, makes sure that Buckley is a safe environment, and guarantees that everyone is included no matter what is different about them.

Mr. Eford loves Buckley and feels happy that he is part of a place that is always improving. One of the improvements he has made is adding programs and listening to students for ideas for sports. I asked him why he added basketball this year for the 5th and 6th grades. Mr. Eford said that basketball is all about traveling to other schools and putting on the uniform and representing Buckley.

During PE, the students are including what they learn in the classrooms in what they learn about physical education. Mr. Eford is infusing technology and vocabulary into PE, having students count in another language for pre-K classes, and adding a word of the day in other languages for younger students. Mr. Eford also makes sure he is part of teaching by leading the Pre-K classes himself.

What really impressed me about Mr. Eford was that he takes into consideration what the students want to do, not just what the teachers want. That way, the students have a say in what they are learning, which makes them enjoy it more and they feel empowered.