Earlier this summer, West Springfield High School needed a principal... and a head custodian. Michael Mukai, who started on the first day of school as permanent relief for interim Principal Becky Brandt, said the two positions are more similar than different.
“One of my mentors told me my main goal should be to become the top custodian in the building,” Mukai said. “He’s the guy that people call when they’re in trouble, when something needs to be cleaned up, or fixed. You should want to be that: the custodian of kids.”
On Aug. 29 Angela Atwater, Assistant Superintendent for Region 4, announced that Mukai would be leaving his five-year post as Robinson Secondary School associate principal.
“I’m excited for him,” said Atwater. “I think he’s going to be a great addition to West Springfield. He really has a good grasp on the community, the needs of the student body.”
Indeed, Mukai spent six years at West Springfield prior to his time at Robinson. He taught, served as Assistant Director of Student Activities and Assistant Principal. Before that he was at Chantilly High School, Lake Braddock Secondary School and his alma mater, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST).
“I’ve spent my whole life here, basically,” said Mukai, who lives in Fairfax and grew up in Reston. “I’ve been in high school for 24 years.”
ONE OF MANY National Merit finalists at TJHSST, Mukai credits wrestling with helping him develop as a more well-rounded student.
“If I had been at Herndon High School” Mukai said, “I probably would’ve been just that academic kid. Going to TJ helped change not only my view of myself, but the TJ kids said I was the wrestling-football guy.”
He continued with the sport at Virginia Tech, where he majored in chemistry. He helped out with a high school team in the nearby “small county” of Floyd, and enjoyed the experience so much, he decided to become a teacher.
Drawing from the balanced competitiveness of his academic and sports background, Mukai not only taught his specialties math and chemistry, but has coached football, wrestling, lacrosse and volleyball.
“If you could make the perfect principal,” said Robinson Principal Matthew Eline, “it would be the ingredients that make Mike Mukai. He has a lot of different skills.”
Developing a diversity of skills and passions is a big part of Mukai’s vision for West Springfield students, one he honed at Robinson.
“Their whole philosophy: Home of Champions,” he said. “I want West Springfield to be a place where kids get to find what they have a passion for -- whether it’s math or science, arts, music, literature. That’s where you go to become the best. State champions, Cappies, Honor Band, forensics and debate... I want the kids to be champions at whatever they do.”
TO ACHIEVE this high standard, Mukai brings a selfless, service-oriented management philosophy that immediately impressed Principal Eline in their one year together at Robinson.
“At the core of Mike is he’s a caregiver,” said Eline. “He takes care of everybody. He’s a good listener and he wants to make other people’s lives easy.”
“I hope that [the students] will come to see that I work for them,” Mukai said.
Whether that’s helping manage the school’s renovation, that is scheduled to pick up steam next fall, or figuring out how to provide additional resources necessary for economically disadvantaged or English language-learning students to succeed, Mukai is ready to clean, fix or mop -- whatever it takes.
“I want to be that person,” he said, acknowledging a head custodian has been selected, but won’t start for another two weeks. “They might have me do both.”