New and upcoming Instagram influencer and Apollo High School principal, Alicia Fischer, knew from an early age she wanted to be in education.
“It’s a blessing for me that I’ve always known I wanted to be in education,” says Fischer. “In third grade, I developed a really strong relationship with my teacher, and in sixth grade, I volunteered all of my recess hours to help support that third-grade teacher. I knew early on that I liked school.”
Though she loved school, it didn’t come easy to her. She had to really work at it. In junior high, Fischer developed another strong relationship with a physical education teacher.
She loves to share this story. “We [Fischer, classmates and teacher] were sitting on the stage just talking after class. She asked that quintessential question, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ I looked her straight in the eye and said, ‘I want your job.'”
Funny thing. Years later, Fischer landed a position in that school district and worked in the same department as her former teacher. The pair rekindled their relationship working side by side. One day Fischer received a phone call from her old teacher.
“Do you still want my job?” asked her old teacher. It was time for her to retire.
At that time, Fischer was moving toward an instructional role for teachers instead of students. She was able to look at students as a whole and support teachers in their role. The experience gave her insight into many content areas and lesson plans and that is what spearheaded her passion to want to become an administrator.
She went back to school to earn her principal license and began working for District 742. She’s given her passion to Tech High School, McKinley-ALC and is now at Apollo where she’s really found her niche.
“All of these experiences all the way back to third grade … have prepared me for this position at Apollo, to lead a comprehensive high school,” describes Fischer. “It’s been my dream.”
Fischer’s passion at school is to become the best version of yourself. She emphasizes that with her staff and her students. One way she is sharing that passion is by engaging both.
“When I think about [being] a principal, I don’t think of ‘that’s what I do,'” explains Fischer. “[Instead] I inspire kids and challenge them to see the world in a different way. For me, I joke around, but I mean this in a very serious way. I feel like I’m a professional teenager in that it’s what I love – the kids. … I want kids to know that I’m approachable in that I’m going to hold them to a high standard. I’m firm and consistent, and I think they see that …”
Instagram became the platform for her to cultivate those relationships with students and staff. There isn’t a day goes by that you won’t see Fischer posting what is happening at Apollo through her lens.
“When I think about where we are as a society . . . I think we actually crave more connections,” says Fischer.
Communication is one of her top five goals as an administrator, and being visually oriented herself, she believes social media is an ideal way to connect with kids.
Fischer does post personal photos of herself and her family. She wants to be seen as an aunt, daughter and friend as well as a principal. She feels Instagram allows for an authentic connection with the Apollo community. Because she presents her authentic self, students send her messages all the time, whether it’s while they are changing classes or sharing common interests.
“I had one student reach out to me because they saw that I like live music, and they were at a concert with their parents in Milwaukee,” shares Fischer. “So, they were just telling me about the concert they were at . . . We have to be accessible.”
As Fischer lives out her dream, she connects with the Apollo community in a way that is engaging and genuine. She looks forward to the day when one of her students will look her straight in the eye to say, “I want your job.”
Fun Facts about Alicia Fischer.
1. She has a passion for photography (which comes in handy with Instagram).
2. She loves being an “auntie!”
3. She loves nature, the outdoors and traveling (best of all is to combine all three).
4. Her heart is on the West Coast, particularly the Northwest United States.
5. She is a beach bum! Just don’t put her on a cruise ship to get there.
6. She was a student athlete.
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