John Preston, Coaching Students Through Life

By: Isabelle Lewis

March 18, 2022

You may find John Preston in room 217, a room always filled with real-life advice for students to absorb. A lively start to the morning is coached along by Mr. Preston, an economics teacher at Colonie Central High School. You may also find him lifting weights during a P.E. class. It is not only his teaching profession that defines him; it is his obvious passion for always acting in the best interest of his students, and colleagues.

Preston grew up in Rensselaer and attended Rensselaer High School, where he met his wife and found his passion for football. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute told him he was their number one football recruit for that school year and offered him a half ride. He took the offer and was glad for it then, but now says that he regrets never visiting RPI’s campus or accepting an offer from Princeton.

Preston looks back on his college years and says he focused too much on football and not enough on choosing the right major. He first went for business and was enrolled in RPI’s accelerated law program; he recalls stating that the one job he would never want is that of a teacher. After a persistent coach convinced him to switch to a major in engineering because of his high math grades, he discovered his passion for finance and business management.

Not only did Preston switch his college major a couple of times, he also switched his career after college. He began as a salesman traveling around the country, but Preston then switched to commercial real estate where he struck a huge deal when he was only 25 years old.

“...I’ve got this deal that’s going to make me hundreds of thousands of dollars over three years.” Preston explained.

But an economic crash influenced the buyers, and they pulled out a week before the deal was supposed to close. This economic setback led him to become a highschool economics teacher. Preston states he “would be way wealthier (if it had closed) but I really really like teaching and coaching here…”. Something he had said from high school that he would never do.

After earning a Master’s degree in teaching from UAlbany, Preston began teaching at Rensselaer High where he became a football coach for the first time. He found a way to teach economics while including his passion for football. After ten years in Rensselaer, he began to teach and coach at Colonie Central High School.

Here at Colonie, Preston also advocates for colleagues. He has taken on the role of head negotiator for the Capital District’s teacher union. Preston learned from the previous negotiator from CCHS, Mr. Shafer.

Preston states that it is hard to make these contracts “... because you have to please the 500 teacher families and plus you have to please the people you are negotiating with or you can’t get the deal done. I would say it’s a tightrope walk, but I like it.”. He finds this job very rewarding and is proud to be a part of helping the teachers he works with obtain higher wages and better healthcare.

When I asked students of Mr. Preston what they thought about him, they all had positive things to say.

“He answers any questions I have. We don’t just do packet work, he talks to us in class,” said Lexi O’Keefe, a senior in Mr. Preston’s economics class.

Alex Newcomb, a former student of Mr. Preston states, “He seemed really passionate about what he was teaching and that he enjoys his job. He always knew the answers to students' questions and never had to stop to look up answers like other teachers.”

Preston was happy to tell me one of his many unique life experiences. He often looks back fondly on a trip he made up to the University of New Hampshire to see a past student and player of his that was recruited by a pro-level team. There, Preston met the university’s football coach, Chip Kelly, a pro football coach who would later become the head coach for UCLA. He says that Kelly let him coach with him for the entire week.

Preston beamed while telling this story, stating that “...if you're really into teaching the best thing you can do is meet the best people in the field, and if you're really into coaching it's the same way.”.

After being asked what he would like to do in his retirement, Preston expressed his love for the outdoors, especially hiking. He has become an experienced hiker over the years and would love to hike Angel's Landing soon, which is a two and a half-mile walk, straight up on a very narrow trail with a thousand feet drop on both sides. He and his wife also love to travel and listen to live music, which they plan to do frequently when Preston retires next year. The couple plans to continue living in their Round Lake home with plans to rent Airbnb’s in southern states during the winter months.

This dedicated teacher creates a classroom environment where differing financial and political opinions are welcome. After 15 years of teaching and coaching at Colonie Central High School, Mr. Preston is a well-known and cherished teacher who has made an everlasting impact on his students and colleagues.