Walking down the halls of Ecker Hill Middle School, you may see Isaiah Folau. Big smile. Broad forehead. Sneakers. If it weren’t for the tie and laptop, you might not know he is the principal. He jokes with teachers and fist-bumps students with equal enthusiasm.
Because Isaiah grew up in town and attended Park City schools himself, he’s been at ease. Some teachers remember when he was their student or served as student body president of Park City High School. “I had so many awesome mentors as a student; they inspired me to go into education,” Isaiah says.
He remembers being a part of the meetings teachers were involved in and thinking, “I love this dynamic; I want to be involved in this work all the time.” Natural leadership in education is in Isaiah’s DNA. “I loved going to school and what it did for me as a student—the holistic nature of it—from getting exercise in PE, expanding new perspectives, and meeting friends, to being introduced to new books and taking part in extracurricular activities,” he says. “Now I get to do that for other students.”
At age 31, Isaiah is the youngest principal in Park City. “It’s an honor,” he says. “I started with Park City schools three years ago. A lot of the same teachers, coaches, and counselors are still around. I had so many awesome mentors as a student; they inspired me to go into education.”
After graduating from Park City High, Isaiah moved to Idaho to study education, then taught fifth grade, which he enjoyed. But he always felt a pull back toward home and ended up moving back to Utah. After several more years teaching second grade and earning his master’s degree from the University of Utah, he served as the assistant principal at Treasure Mountain Junior High for two years.
Today, Isaiah’s favorite aspect of the job is the dynamism. “Every day is different,” he says. “One day, I might facilitate meetings with teachers and debrief an observation. Then, I’ll get a phone call and need to help find a student’s shoe. After, I’ll bus tables at lunch and then hop on the phone with a parent to talk about a concern, then maybe finish the day in a meeting with peers.”
Although I try to balance all the things, I’m always mindful to push forward what’s really meaningful: instructional leadership. Every day is exciting, and there’s never a dull moment. It’s all about finding the balance.
That zeal fuels Isaiah as he faces a huge task: the school year. Treasure Mountain and Ecker Hill combined to become a true 6th–8th grade middle school. Ecker Hill expanded by absorbing 8th grade and now has 125 staff members and just under 1,000 students. “We have both micro and macro challenges,” he says. “For example, on the micro level, our parking is small, and we don’t have enough seats in our auditorium for whole-school assemblies. So, we’ve had to adjust and find ways to accommodate needs like that.”
Space constraints are just the tip of the iceberg. “Our students are in that sweet spot of adolescence,” adds Isaiah. “Their social, emotional, academic, and friendship needs are very unique. So, we have allowances and incentives to meet those distinctive needs.” Administrators at Ecker Hill have been working on designing new programs and adapting old ones to cultivate positive citizenship and foster academic achievement.
On the macro level, how do we marry two cultures, two schools, multiple grade levels, and teachers from each? he asks rhetorically. “It’s a big opportunity. We’re doing great work, and we have a lot more to do.”
Isaiah believes there is tremendous talent and commitment to building future leaders in our community through education at all levels in Park City schools. “I am impressed and grateful to colleagues I work with,” he says. “Coaches and teachers and religious leaders—they have all been a part of my formative years, and I am so grateful that they are still around and helping do that for other students. The impact on my own life has been so meaningful. Now, I have a chance to perpetuate that through this role. I believe the true power of change comes through education. It’s meaningful, hard, and very fulfilling. So, I serve with honor and gratitude.”
When Isaiah’s not at school, he enjoys being home. “Growing up in Park City, I rode bikes on the mountain and learned to ski on early-out Fridays. But after leaving town for college and teaching, the opportunity to do those things faded away. So now I’m falling back in love with Park City. Every season, I’m trying to count days and get as many outside as possible.”
The teachers and mentors Isaiah loved so much as a student relish seeing him in this important role, and they’re having fun calling him “Boss.”
