After Six Years, Knowlton Leaves his Falcon Nest

After six years at the helm of , Principal Steven Knowlton will be sending his last group of Falcons into the world at graduation ceremonies this weekend.

"I've made a lot of friends, I've worked with a lot of nice people, I love the kids here," Knowlton said. "They're very talented and fund to be around."

He won't miss his 50 minute daily commute. Next year, he'll be working closer to home at Bartlett Junior/Senior High School in Webster, Mass., where he'll be principal.

"I'm leaving with mixed feelings, but it seemed to be the right thing to do," Knowlton said. 

His career started in Massachusetts and he still has years in the retirement system there. He said it's no secret that changes to the pension and retirement systems here in Rhode Island helped push him towards the decision to leave the district and the state as a whole.

"I live on the Mass. line, where I'm going it's a 15 minute ride to work," Knowlton said.

Before coming to Cranston High School West, Knowlton was principal at Coventry High School for two years. Before that, he worked in North Smithfield for 14 years, 10 of which as assistant principal.

At West, Knowlton said he thinks he's leaving behind a school in better shape than when he arrived. He didn't do it alone, though.

"I credit a great faculty that worked with me — it wasn't just me, by any stretch of the imagination. One guy can't come in and make all the changes without a great faculty with a desire to work together to change and to achieve," Knowlton said.

He said he hopes that he will get to work with a faculty with the "same caliber of leaders and individuals who work here" at his new school.

This year's senior class made Knowlton proud. They've done well for themselves, he said, and "they've done a lot."

This past year, the student body at West demonstrated maturity and respectfulness despite the portrayals of West as a hostile environment in the media, Knowlton said.

"The whole prayer banner thing was unfortunate — the whole thing was over-dramatized by the media. They made way too much of it," Knowlton said. "The way the school was portrayed upset a lot of kids and staff members. The environment they described that existed here was the furthest thing from the truth."

The students handled themselves remarkably, Knowlton said. There were protesters in front of the school at one point, "adult protesters taunting our kids" and "our kids stayed the course and were mature, responsible, respectful."

"I think they respected the judge's decision and their behavior wasn't like many of the adults that got so emotionally involved," Knowlton said. "They ended up being the role models."

Maybe those students had a role model of their own to look up to.

Knowlton is being replaced by