Ballantyne Magazine covers news, events, real estate, restaurants, shopping, health, schools and business in the upscale Ballantyne Area of Charlotte, NC.
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Ardrey Kell parents credit David Switzer for bringing stability and leadership to a school that had had a high turnover of principals. Q continued from page 35 And doing it all while away from his family. Here, he conquers stress by hitting the Morrison Family YMCA at 5 a.m. five times a week, or by spending time with his family. "I don't stress about this job," says Switzer, 42. "I get to go home at night and see my family. I can always go home and be okay." Switzer grew up in St. Albans, W.Va., just outside of Charleston. His mom was a teacher. His dad was a former Catholic priest turned social worker. From an early age, the two impressed within him the desire to help others. He says he always knew he wanted to teach. When he graduated from high school and went to Concord College, he figured he'd be a baseball star — until he realized he couldn't FALL 2012 hit a curveball well enough. He studied teaching and joined the Air National Guard his freshman year to help pay the bills. Becoming a Flyboy At graduation, he seized what he considered a once-in- a-lifetime chance to fly planes, went to flight school and started in the Air Force on active duty. But he always knew he'd return to teaching. He took a job at Myers Park High teaching social studies, while still balancing time in the reserves. The schedule required him to leave work Thursday afternoons twice a month to go fly, returning Sunday nights. While balancing his time with the military, he earned his master's and became assistant principal, then principal ,at Northeast Middle School in Mint Hill before taking the top job at Ardrey Kell. In nearly 20 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard, Switzer served as a navigator on C-130 cargo planes. Parents credit him for bringing stability and leadership to a school that had had a high turnover of principals since it started in 2006. They say it's hard to fluster him and that he approaches tough situations with thoughtfulness, clarity and a sense of humor. Although the school is high performing — more than 97 percent of students scored at grade level or higher on end- of-year tests — parents say continued on page 38 BALLANTYNE MAGAZINE 37