Working thirteen hour days, six days a week and all year round is not the only thing it takes to be a good principal. Keith Ball has done it all at Etowah for seven years and much more to transform the school into what it is today.

“My job is just to give you the opportunity and resources and teachers to inspire and help you get that done,” Ball said.

During his time at Etowah, Ball has faced many challenges. Etowah had a six period day, and every student had lunch fourth period. There would be four cycles, and when students weren’t at lunch, they had study hall. Ball felt it was unfair for students who wanted to study to be surrounded by students who did not and were distracting. He turned the six period day into a seven period day which solved the lunch issue, and it allowed students another elective.

“There were a lot of thing we needed to fix and make better,” Ball said.

Before Ball came to the school, Etowah looked rundown. The performance at Etowah was good, but the school deserved to look great. Ball did not want students to feel embarrassed by the shabbiness, so he put time into making the campus into something students could be proud of.

Ball has been marketing Etowah for years to make it look like the amazing school that we know today. He said that maybe he would go into marketing schools, so other places know about the education and programs at the school. Education has been his passion, and he would not give it all up.

“Maybe there’s some other challenges out there that would be beneficial to me,” Ball said.