AMHERST — Chalk messages written on the sidewalks that circle Crocker Farm School convey the sentiments of many students: they will truly miss Derek Shea, their outgoing principal.

“Mr. Shea will always have a place in our hearts,” reads one of the phrases written in various colors, with another reading, “You’re the man, Mr. Shea.” While the chalk will eventually wash off the pavement, other students are putting the same messages down more permanently on paper using pens, pencils, crayons and magic markers.

“Kids have been writing letters, and there’s been a lot of hugs, a lot of tears,” Shea said about his impending departure after 16 years at the West Street school.

In a school that has many clubs for students to join, he grabs a box filled with items the art club made for him as parting gifts, containing pillows — including one for his dog, Indie — tea cups and a button with “best principal ever” written on it. At the school’s first-ever fifth-grade graduation ceremony, students presented him a book with their reflections. Many of their notes featured illustrations of the Scottish flag — a white diagonal cross against a blue field — to honor Shea’s home country and heritage.

“We do put our heart and soul in this place, which is reflected in the kids’ remarks and their emotions,” Shea said. “It’s really starting to hit me a little bit, too.”

A native of Glasgow who still retains his accent, Shea calls the students amazing, and having them for six to eight years as Crocker Farm students — with some arriving for preschool — he and the staff provide some consistency for each of their days.

“You get to know the kids in the most beautiful way,” Shea said. “It’s the same faces, the same routines, that we have in abundance here.”

Shea’s transition away from the principal position comes as the new Amethyst Brook School will open in the fall, along with redistricting of students so that both K-5 schools are right sized. However, of the 27 children at Crocker Farm eligible to move to Amethyst Brook, all have chosen to stay at Crocker Farm. They will be among those welcoming Tammy Sullivan-Daley, who has been at Fort River School, as the new principal.

Shea first arrived at Crocker Farm as assistant principal in 2010 after being a guidance counselor at the high school, but circumstances led to him becoming principal in 2014.

“It’s a fairly long period of time to be a principal,” Shea said. “But this is an easy school to be a principal of. This is a joyful place to be. I’ve never felt this is a stressful environment.”

With about 52% identifying as students of color, Crocker Farm has students from 16 to 17 different countries, including Burundi, Ukraine and Cape Verde, and what he terms a healthy multilingual population. Even as Fort River’s Caminantes dual language program has thrived, Shea said a good number of Hispanic and Latino students are still a part of the community.

“We’ve continued to be a diverse, multicultural school,” Shea said.

Shea attributes any success he’s had to those who have served as assistant principals over the past 12 years, starting with Sharri Conklin and Jen Smith, and now Alicia Lopez. They are involved in selecting new staff when positions need to be filled.

“You can only be as good as the people you hire, the multilingual teachers, counselors, the specialists,” Shea said. “We have the right staff here, I would say as good as at any school in the state. The people we have are stable, high quality people who love to learn.”

Social-emotional connections also are important. When he goes to the cafeteria during lunch and has the opportunity to chat with students, Shea gives some of them fist bumps. Each day also starts with Shea, Lopez and others greeting students as they exit the buses.

This success is reflected in the state recognizing Crocker Farm for its efforts in getting students back to school. He said attendance rates are “ridiculous” and that the school boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism in the district. Qualitative markers are also strong, with students generally excelling on the standardized tests.

“All pieces are in place to allow us to have a really good school,” Shea said.

What will change next year is that both the 51 fifth graders and 47 sixth graders who will be leaving. Shea said he believes sixth graders have needed something different, and this will be a minor tweak for them — though whether Chestnut Street Academy, where all sixth graders will be, is the right approach, remains uncertain.

Shea, who makes his home in North Amherst, is also well known in local soccer circles. He played soccer at North Adams State College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology, and then embarked on a professional career with a team in Albany, New York. Shea also coached high school soccer both in Amherst and Belchertown.

As assistant for the Amherst College men’s soccer team since 2015, and part of the Division 3 national championship team in 2024, Shea will stay on in that role, and now can be more involved with developing those players’ skills.

“That’s a big piece of my life,” Shea said.

Shea has also brought a soccer philosophy to his work. He is a big believer in people pulling in the same direction, and the right direction, with those coming to the school being team players.

“There’s no flying solo here,” Shea said.

Stepping down as principal will provide Shea with a little more time to take a breath after working continuously full-time in education since July 1987.

“Thirty-nine years of doing this type of work — it’s time for a little break,” he said.

Because the end of the school year comes in the midst of the World Cup competition, a large board has been set up in the main lobby at Crocker Farm School, charting how each country fares in the tournament, with national flags ready to be affixed when those teams advance.

Students, Shea said, bring a lot of knowledge about the sport, though he expresses amused disappointment — if perhaps not surprise — when none of those he asks pick Scotland as the next World Cup champion.

One student, without hesitation, said that Portugal is going to be the champion, while another claims Brazil will take home the trophy, and a third reluctantly chooses Mexico, having come to Amherst from Mexico City. Shea shows brief annoyance when one student picks England.

Shea recalls being a child in 1974 and his family getting a new television set so they could see Scotland play Brazil, as well as two countries that no longer exist as they did then: Yugoslavia and Zaire. That tournament was held in the former West Germany.

He previously attended World Cup matches in 1998 when Scotland played in France, which was the last time the team qualified for the competition prior to this year.

This time, Shea was able to be a spectator at the team’s first match against Haiti in Foxborough last week, attending the game against with his son, a Scottish friend and the head coach of Amherst College men’s soccer. Shea said he has a new Scotland shirt that he planned to wear when the team played Morocco last Friday, also in Foxborough, and Brazil in Miami on June 24.

Shea said people in Scotland will be watching the matches at 2 a.m., due to the time difference, a large number of fans traveled to Boston to be part of the event. Shea’s hope is that Scotland can finish second in pool play — he’s not counting on them to fare better than Brazil — which would allow them to advance to the knockout round.

“We never qualify for the next round,” Shea said. “I would be more than delighted if they got out of the first round.”

He also appreciates that soccer has come a long way in the United States since 1994, the last time the event was staged in the country.

“Now, the U.S. is feeling the joy of it,” Shea said, though he laments the sport hasn’t reached the point where everyone can easily play.