David White retired at 58 after a 33‑year career in education — the last 15 years as an elementary school principal in Atlanta, where he was once named Principal of the Year. He thought retirement would be “blissful and easy and joyful,” he says. But “I was just hanging out with the cat, and it was a little lonely, honestly.”
Within months he realized he missed the school community. He knew he could not go back to being principal — the job had already been filled — but when a site manager position opened at Burgess‑Peterson Academy he sent in a résumé. Holly Brookins, the school’s new principal, interviewed him and called him more than qualified. The school hired him.
His official title is site manager, but White is basically the school’s handyman. His days now involve power‑washing bathrooms, inspecting fire extinguishers, cleaning gutters, spreading mulch in the courtyard and checking off a long list of maintenance tasks. He vacuums, tightens, paints and solves small problems that let teachers and students focus on learning.
White says he doesn’t mind that he isn’t at the top of the administrative ladder anymore. “Yeah, yeah, I’m one of the bottom rungs, right, if you look at it in a hierarchical way,” he told a CBS reporter. “Why doesn’t that bother you?” the reporter asked. “It doesn’t bother me at all,” he replied. “I still feel like I’m contributing meaningfully to a place I really care about.” He even walks through to‑do lists for the week with the same attention to detail he used as principal.
For White, the work fills a different need than his former job did: it keeps him connected, busy and useful to a community he loves. Instead of leading from the office, he leads by example — showing that retirement can be a chance to start again in a new role that still matters.
Steve Hartman reported this “On the Road” story from Atlanta.