Rose basketball highlights
Fri. |9-26-26| FEATURES
This fall, a new face walks the Rose halls with enthusiasm, quickly becoming a key component of the community: Assistant Principal Marcus Pate. Pate stepped into his role at Rose on July 7, returning to the high school environment after working several years in elementary administration. Working in education and science has always been at the heart of Pate’s journey.
"As a kid, I always liked playing school and would force my siblings to do the work that I did,” Pate said. “I started at ECU as a nursing major...,but ended up as a science teacher.”
To begin his career in education, Pate worked at South Central High School for 10 years, where he taught Environmental Science, Marine Science, Physical Science and Advanced Placement Biology. Afterwards,he transitioned to assistant principal at South Greenville Elementary School for three years before making his way to Rose. In addition, Pate has taught online courses through Pitt County Virtual Academy throughout his career.
Photo by Gabriela Castillo
“The way it works at Pitt County... you kind of go where you’re told to go,” Pate said. “There were some recent shifts in administration [and] I was lucky enough to get the chance to go back to high school and come to Rose.”
As assistant principal, Pate’s day is packed with responsibilities. His daily routine fluctuates between ensuring buses arrive, maintaining school safety, holding parent and student meetings, observing class instruction, and monitoring the halls.
“As a leader, you prioritize what’s important for you, and one of the things that is important for me is making sure students are getting sound instruction,” Pate said. “I have to make sure I manage my time so I can get all the paperwork and tasks done, but also impact what’s happening in our classrooms.”
Adjusting back to the high school environment, Pate keeps up with changes in logistics and the larger population of students. To tackle the responsibilities he upholds, Pate relies on organizational systems and Google Calendar. Beyond his projects, Pate is especially eager to embrace high school student life, extracurriculars and school events.
“I’m excited to get back to high school traditions [and] everything with student life,” Pate said. “I am also excited to meet new students and culture here at Rose [and] just looking forward to immersing [myself ] into the whole of it.”
Planning to be proactive at Rose, Pate has a hands-on leadership style. While doing his tasks, he enjoys conversing and building relationships with students and teachers.
“I love being in the classroom and observing what’s happening and interacting with the students,” Pate said. “I’m a people person.”
Looking forward, Pate has clear goals for this school year at Rose. He plans to support teachers and students by identifying the needs of the environment and collaborating on solutions.
“My biggest goal for the school year is to make sure that we’re using the data that we’re getting..., so that we’re able to not only just provide instruction for students, but have more enrichment activities,” Pate said.
As he looks ahead to the school year, he offers students some guidance for a successful year.
“My biggest piece of advice for students is to stay goal-oriented,” Pate
said. “Organize your time and set steps for how you are gonna get there, and then progress monitor your [progress] along the way.”
Above all, Pate is committed to creating a positive environment for Rose through interaction and building strong relationships. With his past experience, proactive leadership style and devotion, Pate is prepared to create an impact at Rose.
