Estes Principal Ryan Williams promised that if the school were to get in a passing range on their test scores, he would show the students how much they left a mark on him. Friday morning, he made good on the promise by getting a tattoo of the school’s bulldog mascot during a regularly scheduled assembly.
Owensboro Times live streamed the event here.
Williams said that in 2019, Estes had a two-star rating and he didnāt think that score properly displayed the students’ ability.
So on that day, when he was still interim principal, he made a promise to get the Estes bulldog tattooed on his arm should they raise their performance.Ā
āOur kids, our teachers, our families rolled up their sleeves. We take a blue-collar workman’s approach to school so it’s even more amazing that they were able to accomplish what they did,ā Williams said.
Tattoo artist Ashley Monarch donated her time and resources to do the tattoo. She said that it took only about 15 minutes to apply. She said if she were in her studio at Shaka Tattoo and not being watched by students while on a time constraint, she couldāve taken another 15 minutes, but she wanted to finish in time to let the students see William follow through on his promise.
āThe teachers here put their heart and soul into these children. So for me this was an honor,ā she said.
It was Williams’ first tattoo, and he rated it a 6 out of 10 on the pain scale.
Williams said the motivation the students give him will be just as permanent as the tattoo.Ā
āI believe in doing good things for people and leaving your mark on the world,” he said. “and “These kids flipped it and they’ve left their mark on me.ā
