With various experiences both as a teacher and administrator, the new Adams House dean, Khari Roulhac, hopes to assist freshmen through their next four years of high school.
Roulhac began his work at North after former Adams House dean David Turcotte stepped down to become the principal of Canton High School.
“I was able to learn from these different environments,” said Roulhac. “All three experiences, attending different schools, taught me what a good environment looks like.”
Roulhac previously spent twenty years being an athletic director at three different schools, at the college and high school level. He also was the assistant principal at Cristo Rey High School in Boston.
“He is friendly and warm, and I instantly knew that kids will love him,” said principal Henry Turner.
As a child, Roulhac attended three different high schools. First in a public Boston high school, then he transferred to the Catholic Mission School, where he played basketball. When Catholic Mission closed, he finished high school at Concord-Carlisle.
“I was able to see what it’s like to live in a suburban environment,” he said. “I was a METCO student in Concord, and it gave me a real experience.”
Turner said he vetted Roulhac for the job in several ways, starting with a virtual committee which was organized for students and teachers to get to know him. During the virtual committee, Roulhac “spoke meaningfully about the METCO experience. He also spoke of his personal experience working with kids, and his passion for doing so,” said Turner.
Although Roulhac joined North’s community in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, there have been some positive effects to the teaching environment, Roulhac said.
“The hallways are clear, which is different from the regular expectations of a school year,” he added. “The COVID-19 environment allowed me to deliberately work more with staff, and allowed me to learn a lot.”
Roulhac has also been able to work with some special needs students who are currently in the building. According to Teacher Helen Wong, “There are different things that will pull him to parts of the building, and that is to assist the high needs students and students who will need extra support. He likes to be in the building and enjoys getting to know new people, which right now is hard enough,” she added.
Roulhac said he found himself interested in teaching because of his observational approach. “I would describe myself as cool, calm and collected,” he said. “I find real importance in the luxury of listening. An automatic impulse would be to dump everything you know, but I want to hit the ground learning.”
Wong says that she is excited to begin working this new year with Roulhac. “I’m really pleased to have this opportunity to be working with Khari. I look forward to our teamwork together, especially when Adam’s house will be able to welcome all of our students back in the building!”
As the year progresses, Roulhac said he hopes to continue to work with students to suit their practical and personal needs. “I like to have all options. I’ve been to people’s homes, and I really enjoy connecting with students. I enjoy having an open-door policy.”
