Dorian Locklear, a 1994 graduate of Chapel Hill High School, began serving as an assistant principal in September of this school year.
Locklear has been in education for the past 17 years, starting his career as an English teacher.
“My favorite part of teaching English was the various ways that a text can be interpreted,” Locklear said. “You and I may read the exact same novel or poem and have two different takeaways based on our life experiences and our perspectives, and neither one of us are wrong.”
Locklear had been an assistant principal for in the Durham Public Schools district for eight years split, serving at Glenn Elementary School, Lucas Middle School and Lakeview Alternative School; this school year is his first at the high school level.
“The main difference is that there are many more moving parts for students: preparing for college, taking AP courses and participating in extracurricular activities,” he said. “The job also includes dealing with disciplinary issues, naturally. But it’s exciting to see how students mature over the year—seniors especially.”
In dealing with behavioral issues, Locklear practices a philosophy of creating genuine connections with students.
“I want to be as empathetic as possible and really understand how students are feeling and what might cause problems for them,” he said. “In many cases, students think that adults in the building are against them, and I want to assure them that everybody wants [students] to win. And when it comes to having difficult conversations, I’ve already established a rapport, so they know that it’s coming from a pure place.”
One of Locklear’s most rewarding experiences as an educator has been meeting former students.
“I ran into a former student that I had worked with when he was at an alternative school, having been suspended from his regular high school,” he said. “There were a lot of bad influences in that environment, but I constantly tried to have conversations with him about the future and accountability and integrity. I saw him about two weeks ago and he said he was extremely thankful that I had invested my time into helping him, and now he’s a pretty successful young man.”
Another of Locklear’s roles is overseeing the English, social studies, math and CTE departments. English teacher Tom Stanfa says he looks forward to working with him.
“He is very nice and really cares about students,” Stanfa said. “I think he will fill the role extremely well.”
Social studies teacher Anne Beichner is also confident in Locklear’s abilities.
“I’m really excited to work with him,” Beichner said. “He has a lot of experience, and it’s always a plus to have a Chapel Hill High grad on the team.”
Locklear lauded his alma mater as a “top notch” school, particularly for its student engagement in diverse activities.
“It’s phenomenal to see our students performing in concerts during lunch and participating in so many school events,” he said. “Everyone at CHHS goes above and beyond to provide an amazing experience.”
