If you had to rate how excited you were to come to OM this school year, what number would you say? For Mr. McCaskill, OM’s newest 11th grade assistant principal (AP), that number is a definite 10! Mr. McCaskill is not exactly new to our cOMmunity, but he is now filling bigger shoes. 

He started out at OM in 2019 as a social studies teacher, right here in our own history hallway. Then, after a big promotion, was made the AP of Harper’s Choice Middle. He was very upset to leave us, but was also excited to start his new role. Little did he know that he would be brought right back hOMe just a year later!

When asked why he decided to make the switch from the classroom to being an assistant principal, he said “There’s a lot of problems in education, some problems are easier to fix than others.” He said that while he could make a difference in students’ lives in the classroom, he wanted the opportunity to impact more students in a more positive way. While in the classroom, Mr. McCaskill was limited to only a select number of students in his classroom, and he felt like he could help out more than just 100 students. He could help an entire student body. 

While he misses the direct contact with students that he received in the classroom, Mr. McCaskill loves getting to see the impact he is making on the school and student body. He also enjoys knowing that he can be an advocate for many different students. As a teacher, he did not have a say in what happened to students in certain situations. Now, he can advocate for those students and make sure everything is fair.

If there was one thing that he wanted to take from the classroom and put into his administration career, it would be building trust and relationships with students. Since he doesn’t always get direct contact with students these days, he tries his best to make connections with as many students as possible. Mr. McCaskill wants every student to know that they can trust him. If you have anything you need to go to him for, he says, “No judgment here, I’m going to try to help you through it.” In fact, he did carry something from his classroom, and that is his bowl of candy. If you stop by his office and say hello, you’ll get a piece!

Outside of OM, Mr. McCaskill is not Mr. McCaskill, “I’m daddy.” At home, he has a wife and two kids. When he is at home, or out with his family, he is locked into dad mode. Mr. McCaskill wants to be there for his kids as much as possible, involved in almost everything they do. Out of school, he leaves the title behind and focuses on being a good husband, father, son and brother. He is “Trumaine, not Mr. McCaskill.”

He also loves watching The Lion King outside of school. In fact, it’s his favorite movie. As a child he liked watching it for the fun songs and nice plot, but as he got older he started to realize the deeper meaning. He explained that The Lion King and the character Simba represent African-American struggle. A traumatic event tears him away from home and sends him to an unknown place. After time, he begins to forget his culture and where he came from. Mr. McCaskill says this relates to slavery times when Africans were taken out of there homes, their culture and brought here. Over time they began forgetting what it was truly like. He even used himself as an example, since his last name is McCaskill, which is a name with Irish origin. He says that that meaning is what made him really love the movie. And speaking of movies, he would like the OM staff  to know that Die Hard is NOT a christmas movie!

He also loves going out to eat, especially when it’s good food. When asked what his favorite restaurant was, he had to take a second because he couldn’t decide. Ultimately, he said Jimmy’s Seafood in Baltimore is his favorite. He says while it is a little bit pricey, it has very, very good food. In his free time he loves watching sports. In fact, he watches sports, “a lot!” Mr. McCaskill also likes to play video games and travel. Mr. McCaskill said that when we have breaks, like spring break, winter break, or long weekends, he loves to leave Maryland and explore.

If he could go to any one school event, it would be a basketball game. When Mr. McCaskill was a teacher here, he coached girls basketball, so he enjoys being able to still support them. He said he plans on going to almost every OM basketball game this school year. He is also excited about homecoming. His high school never had a homecoming and as a teacher he never attended one, so he is looking forward to seeing what one is like. 

Mr. McCaskill doesn’t want to do something big to be remembered and leave his mark, he simply wants to be known as a nice and trustworthy guy. He wants to help as many people as possible and do right by everyone.  When asked how he relates to the students of OM, he said, “For one, I taught half the kids who are in the building right now,” also including that he takes the time to get to know the students and figure out where they are, as well as meet them wherever they may be. He uses talking and conversations, and occasionally  his candy bowl, to build relationships with students and truly get to know them beyond academics. 

When asked what piece of advice about high school would you give the students of OM, Mr. McCaskill said, “Enjoy it, but remember why you’re here.” What he means by that is finding a balance between social and academic life. Don’t be so focused on the social aspect that you skip class and begin to fail, but don’t also become so engrossed in grades and scores that you miss out on memories and relationship building. You’ll remember high school forever.

Welcome hOMe Mr. McCaskill, we are so glad to have you back!