Wherever Melanie Kay-Wyatt ’92, M.Ed. ’06 goes, she hears a familiar chorus. Standing outside the ballet studio where her youngest daughter dances. Walking through the aisles at the grocery store. Relaxing at the nail salon. Even during vacations to Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Disney World. “Mrs. Wyatt! Mrs. Wyatt!” they shout, excited − and sometimes even a little shocked − to spy their middle school principal in a civilian environment. Kay-Wyatt, a Fredericksburg teacher and administrator since 1997, has made forging strong relationships with students the cornerstone of her career, chatting them up in classrooms, hallways, lunchrooms, and everywhere in between. So when they spot her out and about, she’s only too happy to engage. “You have to build some kind of connection with them or you lose them,” she said. “That relationship piece is key.” Mentoring tweens wasn’t in Kay-Wyatt’s original career plan. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business at University … [Read more...]