When the pandemic hit, James Allrich, principal of Argyle Middle School in Silver Spring, Md., decided to pursue some interests he’d long put off. One was rearing chickens. The other was learning how to DJ.
It turns out, it’s easier to mix songs these days than the long-time educator realized. “You don’t need those huge turntables and records anymore,” said Allrich. “All you need is a mixer that can plug into a computer.”
Allrich’s hobby soon flourished. He now does the occasional wedding for family or friends and has been asked to DJ at principal conference. He even brings his newly acquired DJing skills into his middle school’s lunch hour twice a month, in what he dubs “Turntable Thursdays.”
“All of them were dancing to ‘YMCA’ the other day,” said Allrich, referencing the iconic late-'70s disco hit by The Village People. Allrich takes song requests, too—it’s been a good way to learn what kind of music his students are into. “It was all K-pop this year.”
Being a middle school principal, though, comes first. Allrich only takes on a few unpaid gigs over the weekends, but he still enjoys getting to indulge his passion for music.
The contemporary principal has a full plate of responsibilities and challenges. They battle absenteeism and budget cuts and are continuously working on teacher morale and their school’s culture. Their days can stretch well beyond school hours, which can mean they don’t often have time to pursue other interests.
And unlike teachers, who frequently moonlight, principals may not have a pressing need for a second income. On average, K-12 principals earn between $94,000 and $112,000, while the national average teacher salary is $74,177. Principals have indicated, though, that there can be a gap between what they believe they deserve to be paid, and what they actually earn.
A secondary income is always welcome, said former elementary school principal Amy Andreassen, who taught an online course for aspiring teachers at the University of Phoenix.
For more than 26 years, Andreassen led English Valleys Elementary in northwestern Iowa by day, and instructed new teachers on classroom management, family engagement, and early childhood literacy by night. Andreassen put her extra income toward vacations and college funds for her three children. But money wasn’t the main motivation.
“When you have a class of 20 students and they are spread across the United States, the robustness of the conversations and the discussions is great,” said Andreassen. “It was a way for me to keep my finger on the pulse of education, even though I was living in a town of 900 people.”
Principals find a balance between passion and profession
Andreassen’s days were hectic—she often stayed at school long past the dismissal bell for parent meetings or basketball games—before she got home to teach the students in her online classes. It helped that she could record her lectures and lessons in the evenings, and students could watch them at any time.
Andreassen would also try her best to “stack up” all her school meetings and games on the same day, so that she’d have other evenings in the week to record her classes. (Andreassen recently retired as principal and now works full time at William Penn University as the director of student teaching.)
For Mike Rubin, the principal of Uxbridge High School in Uxbridge, Mass., it was easy to keep his two jobs from clashing with each other.
Rubin, a sportscaster for Brown University athletics, spends his weekends in a commentary box calling games or interviewing players and coaches. He is paid by the university, and the live streams of these games are sometimes picked up by ESPN+.
“Speaking about sports always came very naturally to me. Speaking to coaches comes very naturally,” said Rubin, who started sportscasting in college. “[It’s exciting that] no two games are the same.”
Rubin is familiar with most of the sports he covers for the Ivy League school, but his knowledge as a sportscaster needs to go far beyond what he’s familiar with, so he can provide meaningful commentary about sports like women’s lacrosse and gymnastics. More recently, Rubin found himself broadcasting a state-level cheerleading competition.
Rubin said he has to be quick on his feet to adjust his storytelling style for different sports. While baseball games can last hours, a water polo match is only 90 minutes. In those cases, “you’re calling the action as it’s happening. You aren’t getting into a lot of sidebar information,” he added.
Principals can pick up skills from their second jobs
Rubin and Allrich don’t let their side hustles interfere with their day jobs. But there are useful lessons they can apply from one to the other.
Rubin said he’s honed his interview skills from years of talking to coaches and players—tips that he can apply when he’s interviewing potential staff candidates.
Sportscasting has also made him more articulate as a school leader, and Rubin’s taken those lessons to other principals, through presentations on crisis communication and messaging.
DJing and running a school may have few overlaps, but Allrich has found connections. He’s learned to “read the room” better from his gigs.
“When I walk into school, I’m trying to get the temperature of what’s happening. I’m watching the energy and responding to that,” said Allrich. “When I’m at a party, I’m doing the exact same thing. If people aren’t dancing, I’ll bring up the beat a little, bring up the energy.”
Allrich has also teamed up with another principal interested in DJing and together, they’ve crafted leadership modules on how to apply their DJ skills to running a school. They present these sessions at school leadership conferences.
As the only high school principal in her small rural school district, Andreassen didn’t always get to travel to national leadership conferences or connect with a diverse set of leaders. Her side gig allowed her to stay connected with educators from across the country.
“I’ve been able to see how districts across the United States are using AI with their students, and that just makes me a better educator, because I have so many great ideas coming at me,” said Andreassen.
