Registrar Curtiss

Keeping records on Centennial.

March 18, 2016

Registrar+Curtiss

Destiny. The hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future. Whether or not you believe in these things, there’s no denying some things are just meant to be. And sometimes they are helped along by outside influences, such as… Frisco’s rezoning policies? While frustrating to many, they brought a passionate and hardworking woman to Centennial that our school would’ve never been the same without.

Tracey Curtiss, however, never intended to be a registrar as much as she just wanted to work at Centennial, making it her “home.”

“I was trying to get a job at Centennial so that my kids can come to this high school,” Curtiss said. “Where we lived they would’ve gone to three different high schools thanks to rezoning.”

However, once she was aware the position was available, Curtiss found it was perfect for her.

“I was very interested in the registrar position because there were a lot of public relation aspects to it and that was what my degree in college was,” Curtiss said.

Putting her degree to good use, Curtiss constantly deals with students who keep her busy all year, making no day of hers typical.

“In the beginning of the school year, I start four weeks before the students come back and I’m constantly enrolling new students, then the rest of the year is spent enrolling students as they move into the area,” Curtiss said. “I also withdraw a lot of students when they have to move to a different town or state and then I send out senior transcripts for every student that enrolls here.”

Curtiss’ work is admirable and demanding, as Frisco ISD is one of the fastest growing districts in the area.

“If the students are not coming from within Frisco ISD, besides sending transcripts I also have to build them,” Curtiss said. “We usually have between 150 and 200 plus students enroll in the school every year.”

Despite her taxing work, Curtiss loves working with us high schoolers and calls it the part she likes most about her job.

“I like helping students, especially high schoolers, probably of all of the students I could’ve worked with,” Curtiss said. “I probably relate better to the high schoolers than I would with the little guys in elementary or the crazy kids in middle school.”

However, Curtiss, like most of us, doesn’t appreciate arguing kids that hold her back, something happening more often than it should.

“What I like least about my job is when kids argue with me about needing something right away and not being able to get it. It should maybe be called push back more than arguing,” Curtiss said. “I don’t like when I tell something can’t be done yet to someone and they push back wanting it anyway, or question my job. I love my job because I’m able to help students, which if they follow directions is really easy to do.”

Hear that? Next time you’re at the registrar’s office, make her job easier and do as she tells you! Still, none of this takes away from Curtiss’ love for Centennial.

“I don’t think there’s one thing I would change about Centennial,” Curtiss said. “If I could change anything it would be Mr. Spain letting us wear jeans every Friday. I love working here, I love the people I work with and I know a lot of the students.”

Curtiss has personal connections to the school as well, as all her kids have gone here.

“I started working here when my oldest son was a freshman, so you get to know a lot of the kids and their families,” Curtiss said.

Curtiss is also a Titan wrestling mom (congratulations on the 2nd place finish at State, by the way) and sometimes struggles to balance her personal life with her work.

“There are times, especially this time of year when I have district tournament, regional tournament and state tournament every weekend and I’m not here a lot, Curtiss said. “I feel guilty when I’m not here and when things come up that other people can’t help with, which is really pretty hard, but for the most part the events take place in the evenings and on the weekends so it doesn’t interfere with my job too much. It’s just when you get to the end of the season and you have playoffs per se they take a lot of Friday and Saturdays and sometimes they’re out of town.”

Considering Curtiss’ busy schedule and her love for both work and family, an easier way to transport herself places would be a dream come true.

“If I could have one superpower, it would be the ability to teleport myself somewhere, because my kids are scattered now,” Curtiss said. “My oldest son has actually just moved home but he was in New Jersey in school for five years, and my daughter is at UT. I would love to just be able to teleport myself to wherever they are so that I could spend time with them and not miss a whole lot of time from here.”

After talking to her and given her long history of working at Centennial and making it a better place, it is evident working at Centennial is Curtiss’ destiny.

“We were just trying to get a high school home,” Curtiss said.

And she did just that.

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