E.C. Glass principal retiring with class

Wednesday was an emotional day for E.C. Glass High School students, staff and faculty — especially principal Susan Morrison, as word of her retirement spread.

The announcement that she will retire at the end of this school year came at Tuesday evening’s school board meeting. The news made its way around the tight-knit school community Wednesday,
where happiness for Morrison mixed with disbelief and sadness.

The mother of three and grandmother of four said the time was right.

“I think if you wait to leave when you don’t enjoy what you’re doing,” Morrison said, “you’re leaving for the wrong reasons, and I still really love what I’m doing.”

She’s been at it for a while.

For more than a decade Morrison has served as Glass principal, first taking over as interim principal in August 1995. She was officially named principal in April 1996. Her tenure is the second longest by a Glass principal.

She was also the city schools’ first female high school principal and first Glass alumna to become principal. Morrison was LCS supervisor for instruction and special education and a Glass teacher before she was principal.

For the past 30 years, Morrison said, she has focused on career and family, but now it’s time for her.

She fidgeted in her chair and asked if that sounded selfish. Ask students or staffers at Glass and they will likely answer with a resounding “no.”

Patty Worsham, veteran Glass English teacher, said Morrison became a teacher two years after her. They have known each other for about 30 years.

“She really is a person of vision. There have been so many times I’ve gone to her with a project or request and it would have been easier to say no. But I don’t think she’s ever said no to anything as long as it was the right thing for Glass,” Worsham said.

Not only that, but Worsham said Morrison has a work ethic and a willingness to listen that are unmatched.

“I think one of the things that has amazed me about her is her stamina,” Worsham said, adding Morrison doesn’t miss a sporting event or Glass production. “She is a very visible presence and I think that’s going to be a challenge for whoever is principal after her.”

Students expect to see her at tennis matches and volleyball games.

Senior and student athlete Emily Kerns said Morrison has always taken an interest in athletics. Under Morrison’s leadership, Kerns said, she’s seen the girls’ volleyball program grow.

Morrison said girls’ athletics have been important to her because that wasn’t an opportunity she had at Glass when the only sports for girls were intramurals.

Kerns said she’s sad to see her cheerleader and principal go.

“We have many great things at Glass and she’s one of them,” she said. “I look up to her because she’s very, very passionate about what she does. That’s a quality I would like to have.”

Morrison’s can-do attitude and determination have left a mark on the Glass community. During her retirement Morrison said she plans to continue learning, but not working.

“I told my husband I was going to learn to cook, not because I want to cook,” she joked. “I just want to learn new things.”

Morrison also plans to spend more time with her family, and of course she won’t be a stranger to Glass.

“I really enjoy the activities the kids are involved in, whether it’s on the field or the court or in the academic competitions, the plays, the concerts. When you enjoy that you can’t just stop, but I will truly be a spectator. I truly will not be working.”

Morrison said the students will be what she will miss most.

“The part that I love most about this job is students, and watching them through their struggles and their victories and their life experiences,” she said. “That’s what I’ll miss and that’s why I’ve worked in the high school as long as I have.”