Principal who exceeds expectations

--Suzie Cochran

Mike Bachicha sits in front of clippings and pictures of his past and current students.

Sandia High School's principal, MIke Bachicha wants his students to feel like they were cared about.

by SUZIE COCHRAN

From an early age Mike Bachicha had a strong desire to become a head high school basketball coach.

Bachicha, 52, had a love for the game which came from watching his own father, Fred Bachicha, teach basketball to his physical education students.

“I saw the impact he had on other people’s lives,” Bachicha said.

Experiencing this type of dedication first-hand ultimately led Bachicha to pursue his dream by becoming a coach himself and later becoming the head principal at Sandia High School.

Bachicha’s love of basketball and his desire to help others succeed in life all started out when he was in high school.

In high school Bachicha joined the student council at Del Norte for one year and tried out for the high school’s basketball team. But after being cut from the team, he didn’t join other extra-curricular activities.

“I never got involved in anything else because basketball was the only thing I wanted to do,” Bachicha said.

After graduating from Del Norte, Bachicha attended the University of New Mexico. As an incoming freshman he was unsure of what path he wanted to take but decided on a physical education degree.

“A couple of my friends were taking PE classes and I decided to do it,” Bachicha said.

Bachicha stuck with the program and in 1976 he received his bachelor’s degree in physical education. He then went back and received his master’s in 1983.

Even though the low salary discouraged Bachicha away from teaching at first, after he graduated, he decided a career in teaching was the right path to take.

“I always thought I would be a career teacher,” Bachicha said.

Through his early career Bachicha held some teaching and administrative positions. Some of these positions were PE and health teacher and middle school head principal.

Bachicha was even able to fulfill his dream of becoming a coach when he was head coach at Manzano High School from 1984 to 1992.

Bachicha said he couldn’t pick one particular job that he liked more than the other.

“I liked all of them in a lot of ways,” Bachicha said.

“I liked to see the magic of what happens in education,” Bachicha said about his reasons for the love of an educational career.

Following in his father’s example, Bachicha now is able to help his current students as head principal at Sandia High School. Bachicha took this job in the 2004-2005 school year.

If you ask anyone on the Sandia campus Bachicha shows his dedication and commitment to the school and students every day.

Tim McCorkle, assistant principal at Sandia High School, said Bachicha is firm but fair with the students and can always be seen around Sandia’s campus.

“He is more involved and more visible,” McCorkle said. “By other principals he goes beyond.”

Bachicha not only can be seen throughout the halls every day at school but he also is present at different sporting events and extra-curricular activities.

“I want the students to feel like they were cared about,” Bachicha said.

Bachicha said the most important thing to him as a principal is to see his students and even his staff to have continued success in all of their programs.

“I would like to see my students become responsible citizens and people after they graduate,” Bachicha said. “I wan to prepare them for college too.”

Bachicha is not only dedicated to his students but he is also dedicated to his staff.

“Mike is very professional. He lets me do my job,” McCorkle said.

Tom Knauber, student success advocate and athletic director, said he is blessed to be in his position and work for a principal like Bachicha who makes it easy to come to work every day.

“He is easy to talk to,” Knauber said. “His door is always open. Mike is definitely a people’s person.”

Knauber said it also helps that both Bachicha and he have the same moral beliefs, which makes his job easier. The same beliefs being: family, school and church.

Unlike past principals he’s worked for, Knauber said Bachicha allows him to make his own decisions when it comes to Sandia’s athletic program.

“If he knows something he’ll help out,” Knauber said.

But he also said if Bachicha is unsure of something or of a situation he won’t hesitate to grab knowledge from others.

Knauber said that Bachicha and he have a special professional athletic relationship. He said Bachicha is very knowledgeable about sports since he once was a coach himself.

Bachicha said the biggest thing he wanted his players to get out of the game of basketball was the basic principles in life: good character, hard work and team work.

“I didn’t want to be a win-at-all-cost coach,” Bachicha said.

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