SPANISH FORT, Ala. — The most notable change Spanish Fort High School students will notice when classes resume Aug. 16 is Marty McRae at the helm.

McRae, who served most recently as an assistant principal at Fairhope High School, is taking the reins from Beverly Spondike, who announced at the close of the 2009-10 school year she was accepting a position with the recently formed Saraland City Schools.

“I’m very excited to be here, and I’ve already had the opportunity to meet quite a few people, but it’s been an absolute pleasure as more and more students and their parents have made their introductions,” said McRae, a Greenville native who is married with four children of his own ranging in age from 4 to 19.

McRae, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Auburn University and his master’s in educational administration from the University of South Alabama, spent 13 years as a math instructor and longer as an athletic coach, both of which prepared him for his current post.

“Math, not unlike other disciplines, is one in which you take a situation, a problem and break it apart and find the small solutions in order to solve the bigger problem. It has really helped me think outside of the box sometimes,” he said.

McRae also served as Fairhope High’s head baseball coach and assisted with both the football and basketball programs, setting the stage for a smooth transition to administration.

“When you’re a head coach you take a whole program and develop every aspect of that program, not just what you do when you step out on the field, but the behind the scenes things concerns like budgets and scheduling and getting the kids to do what they’re supposed to do in the classroom and in the community,” he said.

“As an administrator, you’re doing a lot of the same things, but most importantly, you’re constantly training your students and teaching them, ‘This is how you need to do things,’” McRae said.

See the rest of this story in the Aug. 13 Spanish Fort Sun.