Principal profile- Robert Guynn
Robert Guynn
Principal
2 Year as Rio Del Mar Principal
8 Years as Principal
This is Mr. Guynn’s 2nd year serving Rio Del Mar Elementary School students as principal. Before working in Rio he served as a principal and district administrator for Adelanto School District and prior to that as a teacher for the Victor Elementary School District for 7 years. Before coming into education, Mr. Guynn worked for Gelson’s Markets grocery stores, Young’s Market Company food distributor, and Molded Fiberglass Company and Owens Corning fiberglass products manufacturers.
Mr. Guynn earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geography/Ecosystems at the University of California, Los Angeles, his teaching credential at Redlands University, and his Masters in Education through Concordia University in 21st Century Education.
Mr. Guynn brings a wealth of experience to his work as a school principal. Among many attributes, he is a systems person that navigates well the world of data, systems development, implementation, and evaluation. Mr. Guynn is deeply connected to his family and to exploring the natural world as well as the world of Do It Yourself making. Among his many interests is gliding along the highways and byways on his Harley.
We asked Mr. Guynn the following three questions and his responses follow each;
- What do you think matters most to children when they attend school?
Children want to know they matter. Whether it is their teacher, librarian, playground aide, or custodian, children thrive when they have positive relationships with adults. Children experience importance when adults tap into their curiosity, challenge them to think, take them seriously, nurture their self-respect, provide choices for learning, and make them feel important, among others; giving them a sense of belonging.
- How has your leadership changed over time and experience?
Coming from the corporate world of policy, procedure, and the bottom line, I was focused on those when I first came to education. But over the years I have learned that while there is a purpose for them, relationships are the most important aspect of leadership. Caring, listening, supporting. Just as it is important for a teacher to develop relationships with their students it is equally important for me as a leader to develop those same relationships with my staff, students, and parents. Relationships keep an organization healthy and productive. Leadership used to be very hierarchically structured but has flattened over the past couple of decades. I have learned that everyone is a leader and contributes to the success of an organization. I enjoy working with, for example, teacher leaders, office leaders, kitchen leaders, and student leaders.
- What has working in schools meant to you in terms of your own development as a person, husband, and father?
Working in education has changed my focus on life and given me purpose. It is a mission for me. Education is about people, relationships, and developing young minds to be future leaders, productive citizens. It’s purposeful and fulfilling.
As a father, I have always been an advocate for our children and their education as my parents were for me. I am glad to say that all of our children have graduated with at least one higher education degree and have gone on to have productive professional careers. I want this same opportunity for all children for whom I am responsible for and for those over whom I can have a positive influence.
I am blessed to have married Jane, my wife of 32 years, for many reasons. One of the many principles that we have agreed on is that our children’s education was a priority and she played a major role in making that come true. Not only was she a stay at home mom while our children were in school, but she was also heavily involved with their education during school. While she helped at school I helped with homework and worked on projects with them. This “division of labor” helped us achieve our quality education goal for our children and brought us closer together as a couple. We attended every performance, competition, and event over the years to show our support. As a result, we have a very close family and spend as much time together as possible.
Learning happens beyond the classroom walls and as such, our family took as much time, over the years, to experience the world around us. Camping at the beach, hiking the trails in the Sierra Nevada, traveling to other states, traveling abroad, going to the grocery store as a family, the movies, playing sports or just hanging out in the backyard were some of the experiences that provided me the opportunity to teach our children and be closer to them. As a father, I would not trade that for anything.
Working in education and the education it has provided me has helped me to understand how to approach learning, support learners, provide learners with meaningful experiences. Not only have I applied this to my professional career but I was also able to provide this for my children to give them the best educational experience possible. Now I am enjoying the grandchildren.