“Anyone who has met or worked with Dr. Almy can see that he cares deeply about Liberty students, families and staff members,” assistant principal Erin McKee said.
Many of these students and staff would agree with McKee, as they say goodbye to Principal Josh Almy, who, after four years, has left a profound impression on Liberty’s students and staff.
ASB President Connor Applegate (12) says that Almy was always willing to help with the processes of putting ASB ideas and projects into motion.
“It’s an awesome trait in a school principal, to be willing to invest in what the students want,” Applegate said. “He always attended everything we put on. He was always there and showing his face and being supportive with what we were doing.”
Aside from providing for ASB and listening to the voice of the student body, Almy has also spread his influence on the staff.
“I’ve known Dr. Almy since day one, and he has been very supportive of the STEM program, specifically the student research class that I created and have offered over the last couple of years,” physics teacher Mark Buchli said. “He understands the demands of teaching laboratory science and works harmoniously with me to build a stronger science program.”
Almy provides support to many other departments, too, including music and the arts.
“He is a great leader, but while being a leader, he is a real servant to the Liberty staff and students,” guitar and band teacher Jared Tanner said. “There’s always a possibility with him. He never shuts anything down, and he always tries to find a way to solve a problem.”
As an educator, he has been driven to find a way to enable students who don’t have the same opportunities as other Liberty students.
“Over the past four years, we have gone to the Issaquah Schools Foundation, the PTSA, private donors and our Booster Club, and we’ve raised over $100,000 for students in need,” Almy said. “So if a student doesn’t have the finances or support to be a four-year college-bound kid, to take AP classes or CHS credits, or to buy textbooks for those classes, we have made it a focal point to change that culture. I think that we are well on our way.”
Almy also influenced the creation of Liberty’s junior level SAT Prep course, which is free and counts as an elective credit. That class alone has boosted SAT scores on an average of about 120 points per student.
As Almy leaves Liberty, he expresses how appreciative he has been of the nature of our school’s student and staff.
“I can walk down the hallways or the lunchroom, and I’ll get a nod, a smile and a ‘Hi Dr. Almy’,” Almy said. “And some people can say, ‘That’s how schools are!’, but I’ve been in a bunch of schools before, and I’m here to tell you that that’s not how all schools are. Liberty is that way, and I hope that that doesn’t change.”