Mentor High School Principal Joe Spiccia Talks Retirement

"When you shake it all out, it's about helping people," Joe Spiccia said.

That was his reflection, not just on his eight years as principal at , but his 30 years in education.

"It's not just about teaching them algebra," he added.

Spiccia will retire as principal during the summer and start consulting school districts on the national Race to the Top program.

Spiccia, who is still relatively young at 53, said he and his wife had always intended for him retire from his full-time job once their children were firmly established on their own.

Like all retirees, Spiccia said he would miss the people. However, he specified that he especially liked helping students and teachers find what they want to do with their lives.

"It's about gifts and fascinations," he said. "Everybody has things they're good at and everybody has things they are fascinated by. We want to help people find that crossroads where their gifts and fascinations meet.

"If I could, I would do that forever because I think it's that important."

Spiccia was principal during some difficult days for Mentor High School. Four students died in 2007 -- three from suicide, one from an overdose. Two of the students' families have sued Mentor Schools, saying the school did not do enough to stop the bulling.

Also, in 2010, two Mentor High students overdosed fatally on heroin.

Spiccia said those days -- in fact, any day when a student died -- were some of the toughest, but he needed to stay strong for the students or staff who needed him.

"I was crushed but I couldn't be crushed because somebody needed me," he said.

While Spiccia said he could not discuss the ongoing bullying lawsuits, he did say that it bothers him that some think he was indifferent to the plight of the bullied students.

"They would lead some to believe that I was uncaring and ambivalent," Spiccia said. "That's not true."

In fact, Spiccia said indifference is one of the few things that rankles him.

"It hurts when you have the parent who doesn't seem to care about their kid or the staff member who's disinterested," he said.

Spiccia said that he hoped, when he became principal, that Mentor High School would continuously improve. And he doesn't want that improvement to stop after he leaves.

"If Mentor High isn't better in two or three years, then we've all failed," he said.

Spiccia did have a suggestion for , William Wade:

"Take advantage of the talent you have around you. Use their skills. They will help you be successful."

While Spiccia does love a good round of golf, he doesn't see himself slowing down too much in retirement.

"I would go crazy if I didn't work," he said. "I want to work until I'm 73."

Spiccia was principal at Hudson High School before he came to Mentor, and he said that a third tenure as principal was not impossible.

"In a year, if I find out (the consulting job) isn't what I thought it would be, I'll find another school. I'm not afraid to say that," he said.