Accord Weekly Newsletter

Week of September 17th, 2023 

In the Classroom:

An Interview with Steve McDonald, School Assistant

by Accord Student Gio

Recently, Gio sat down with our own Steve McDonald. We are thrilled to have Steve with us this year in an expanded role. He always willing to roll up his sleeves to get any job done. His background in the business world, college classroom and as a father brings a fresh perspective to our school.

Gio: What is your role at the Accord School?

Steve:  Oh my! A lot of different things. So in the morning, I make sure the building is ready for everybody and greet all the students as they come in. Mondays and Wednesdays I have advisories. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I help Katy make sure she has time to prepare her work. 

Gio: What did you do before working here?

Steve: So before working here I was a college professor at Suffolk University and Stonehill College for 20 years. I also had and I still have my own business which helps construction contractors manage their money. Before I was a college professor, I was a construction accountant for many years, so I was in the construction business.

Gio: What do you like most about working with Accord students? 

Steve: It is how relentlessly kind the students are to each other and to the staff and how the staff is to each other. It's just a very different feeling place than anywhere else I've ever been.

Gio: What is the most challenging part of your job?

Steve: I was in Advisory today and we were talking about math. I said that when I was in school math always came very easily to me. When I started teaching it in college, one of my challenges was to understand how to work with students for whom math didn't come easily. So the challenge here is that we have many students who are in different ways neurodiverse and for me, the challenge is learning how to work with each of them as individuals. This is a great opportunity for growth for me.

Gio: When you aren’t working, what do you like to do?

Steve: So when I'm not working I spend a lot of time riding a motorcycle. I've been riding for 30 years. I've gone across the country twice. In my family we like to hike and ski. We go up to Maine in the mountains. I do a lot of photography. I am really excited because we now have a photo printer in the school which I am getting set up. In the old days I had a dark room in the basement and did all my own developing and film printing. 

Gio: If you didn’t have any of these jobs, what career would you like to have?

Steve: You know, that’s funny because when I chose my original career which was in accounting as a Certified Public Accountant, I never dreamed I would be teaching. I found when I left college and started working that I enjoyed helping the other people I was working with get better at what they were doing, maybe more than I actually enjoyed the accounting. So I think there's always been a teacher in me. I do think that if I didn't have this career and I had to pick one I think I would have liked to have been a basketball coach.

Gio: Oh wow!  I would not have expected that!

Steve:  Well I've been coaching that for 20 years and I only stopped when my son got older and I've always enjoyed it a lot.