In writing this article, I pondered over what I could
say that would enhance the ideas of novice principals and add to the flavor of those seasoned principals in MCS. There have been many times that I have had conversations over lunch or dinner with new and/or experienced principals and it seems that we all begin with facing the same dilemma each year. Most times the biggest decision that principals have to make is where to start first. The decision on where to start first can either make you or break you and where you start first will vary from year to year.
In my first few weeks as a new principal, we began the year by addressing how we responded to the needs of the community. The community I serve had been experiencing a lot of transition for the past few years. This transition was evident by the amount of new students we had coming to our building each year. Each year since I have been at Brownsville, we were greeted with the fact that more and more of our students’ parents were buying homes in other parts of the county or building homes in Tipton County or Fayette County. I began to address this area by brainstorming ways that I could retain the parents I have and attract people to the community who were interested in the well being of the school. After brainstorming, I began seeking literature that would help me reach my goals as a new principal. The first book I read was, What Great Principals Do Differently. This book helped me to understand how to base decisions on the ideas of my best teachers. I immediately began to poll my most effective teachers about things that we needed to work on as a school. One comment I kept hearing was that our community was changing and that we needed to make sure we were addressing the needs of all children. This comment led me to do more investigation on the perception of other teachers in my building. What I learned through this investigation is that perception is reality for the perceiver.
After realizing that perception was an issue with our faculty, during the first week of in-service, I solicited the help of former board commissioner, Barbara Prescott; to lead us in a discussion on how we view our school community and how do we feel the community views us? This discussion naturally led to how do we want the community to view us?
This activity helped the teachers to see the importance of building appropriate relationships with the community. Next, the school purchased the book, What Great Teachers Do Differently, and the teachers used the jigsaw method to go through the book during staff development meetings. The book, What Great Teachers Do Differently, really helped teachers to understand how to get parents on their side, how to address issues about students with parents, how to practice effective classroom management, and how to implement appropriate instructional strategies. Also, after implementing strategies learned from What Great Teachers Do Differently, parent-teacher conferences went more smoothly, discipline referrals decreased, and instructional strategies were geared toward teaching the whole child.
Also, in dealing with perceptions, we had to build relationships with the child care providers in the area. To address the issue of public relations, I created a marketing team. This marketing team was responsible for making a plan to reach out and express the great things happening at Brownsville Road. We went to childcare providers and handed out brochures and balloons to perspective parents who lived in our area. The brochures listed academic and non-academic activities provided at our school. These brochures are provided every year through the Division of Optional Schools, but it was our job to get the good news out. We also solicited various publications to write stories on what was going on at Brownsville Road. We reached out to our parents for support also and they gave us information about students that may be interested in our school. We mailed a letter from the principal and an optional school brochure to various families in the community. Also, our adopters let us display art work in their lobbies and dining rooms. Despite this effort we still had one obstacle to overcome, which leads me to the next step in getting things started.
After being the principal for a month, I learned that the school was on the state identified “Target List.” By discovering that the school was on the state generated list, my second step in getting started was defined for me. I began by looking at my data with the help of Evelyn Moseley, principal at Germanshire and my assistant principal, Vickie Sneed. Mrs. Moseley created a template, in which, we could type the students scores in and it would calculate the OPI’s for each tested skill. After looking at the class OPI’s, we (the teachers and I) were able to make instructional decisions that would guide our efforts and increase student achievement. The teachers also worked together to find a time in their schedule to teach additional skills. The teachers were given 3 ring binders to keep with their class’s TCAP data and each grade level had a grade level book that was turned in to the office. The grade level book was where the teachers kept a record of the skills the students were low in, which skill they had taught, and the students scores on the assessments the teachers gave. Each assessment on a skill was done in TCAP format, as to prepare the students for seeing the format during TCAP time. In addition, the teachers added a place in their lesson plans and labeled it focused instructional plan.
The next school year the state decided to publish the Blueprint for Learning, which we currently use by correlating it with the curriculum guide SPI’s and the formative assessment SPI’s. Each grade level meets before the next six weeks with the facilitator and they highlight skills that are in all three tools. We then prioritize and rank the skills. The teachers also take a retrospective look at the formative assessment skills after each test is given. In that meeting, we compare ourselves to the district and the teachers use their focused instructional time to reteach the skills in the areas where the students scored below seventy. This leads me to my next step in getting started, teaching the skills well the first time.
In my third year as principal at Brownsville Road, we have been focused on teaching the skills well the first time. This effort came from noticing that teachers were bombarding students with too much assessment in TCAP format. I was proud of how the teachers took ownership of their students’ achievement, but our focus from the beginning was to reach all children. This is when I discovered the book, Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites by Marcia Tate. The school purchased this book at the end of the year as summer reading material for our teachers. Almost every Wednesday since the beginning of school, staff development meetings have been dedicated to focusing on one of the twenty instructional strategies in the book. The strategies in this book are based on brain research done by learning style theorists and neuroscientists. Each strategy is geared to teaching to a different learning style. I asked at least three teachers each week to do a fifteen minute activity by taking us through an actual lesson based on the instructional strategy they were assigned to present. This effort really created an environment that made staff development meetings fun and exciting. In staff development meetings we learned how to use humor and telling stories, how to implement-problem based instruction, how to incorporate games into lessons, how to utilize mnemonic devices and metaphors, and how to use singing and dancing while learning to facilitate the learning process. We use this book not only to reach all children, but also to address the skills that are to be taught in each grade level. Our teachers have been observed putting these skills into practice. We know our students are learning because they take the games and other strategies to the playground and home to their parents.
Each year the decision on where to start is different. Each new year brings new challenges, new successes, and new initiatives. Remember that how you start the school year can either make or break you. Whether you are an experienced principal or a novice principal, the decisions you make must involve the school community and have the students’ best interest at heart.
E-mail: newbornc@mcsk12.net
