Retired Atlanta principal returns as school handyman, finding community again

David White is back at Burgess-Peterson Academy in Atlanta, only now the former principal carries out the work of the school’s site manager, repairing bathroom fixtures, touching up paint, checking fire extinguishers and cleaning gutters. He even was seen fixing a flickering lightbulb in the boys’ bathroom, a small task that captured the larger story of a veteran educator stepping into the hidden labor that keeps a school running.

White retired in September 2025 after 33 years in education, including 15 years as principal of Burgess-Peterson Academy. Retirement did not sit well with him. He later applied for the open site manager job at the same school and was hired, taking a role far below the one he had once held but one that put him back in the building and back among the people he knew best. About six weeks into the job in March 2026, White said retirement had left him feeling “lonely and disconnected,” and that he had lost his sense of community.

That loss helps explain why the return mattered beyond the novelty of a former principal on a ladder. Burgess-Peterson Academy serves more than 550 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, along with special education programs, and the school is the neighborhood school of choice for East Atlanta Village and Reynoldstown. It also identifies itself as an International Baccalaureate World School, with family events such as Family Math Night and Family Literacy Night, the latter introduced in 2022 to support structured literacy and explicit phonics instruction. In a school built around close ties with families, White’s return restored a familiar presence in a role that often goes unseen.

Dr. Holly Brookins, the current principal, said White’s return added value to the school community and was joyful for students and staff. The fit carries extra weight because White was once named Principal of the Year for Atlanta Public Schools, making his move from top administrator to handyman a striking reminder that devotion to a school does not end with a title. At Burgess-Peterson Academy, the same person who once led the building now helps keep it working, and that continuity has become part of the school’s daily life.