Battle-Weary, but Appreciated

Need a pick-me-up on this chilly Friday morning? Try this recent blog entry from Shelton educator and sometimes-blogger Pamelia Valentine. Published earlier this week in Partnership for Learning's blog, The Hall Monitor, Valentine's piece recognizes the efforts of her "battle-weary" principal.

"I’ve come to the conclusion that a school has to be one of the most complicated systems in which to bring about desired transformation," writes Valentine. "Luckily for us, our leader is tenacious and willing to work shoulder to shoulder with all staff in order to create the school that he envisions."

She continues: "...I have a suspicion that this principal will not be leaving soon, and I have a deep and abiding hope that he will make lasting sustainable changes for the benefit of our students. Consistency trumps intensity every time."

Feeling Squeezed?

News from "the other" Washington: "Principals are squeezed from both sides."

OK, so this may not be a shocker to you, no matter which Washington you're from. But it's worth a read all the same.

When Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney recently spent time with principals of the year from the D.C. region, he asked them about their work and how it's changed over the years. Their answers, says McCartney, were "disturbing."

Chalk it up to micromanagement, NCLB, tight budgets, low morale, impatient parents, the pitfalls of the Internet and the looming threat of swine flu. Sound familiar?

McCartney marvels at the principals' high level of job satisfaction, despite the many demands they face, and concludes: The rest of us should be grateful that these valuable public servants are happy in their work, considering all the grief we're dumping on them.

'Younger and Freer'

"Principals Younger and Freer, but Raise Doubts in the Schools," says the headline of New York Times article published earlier this week. The article focuses on principals under 35 in New York City.

According to the article, 22 percent of the city's principals are under 40, compared with 6 percent in 2002, and about 20 percent have less than five years of teaching experience, double the percentage in 2002.

The NYT makes a few jabs at the New York City Leadership Academy, an intensive training program for aspiring principals. Data from the city's report card system indicates that Academy graduates were less than half as likely to get A’s as other principals. However, those graduates ofter face greater challengers, accepting placement in NYC's lowest achieving schools.

The article's conclusion offers an analysis that, well, isn't exactly breaking news to principals, novice or veteran: "Experience counts."

Celebrating Our Principals of the Year

“None of us is as smart as all of us.”

Those words of wisdom come from Kennewick's Bruce Cannard, who was recently named the state’s top elementary school principal of the year.

Bruce was selected as the 2009 Washington State Distinguished Principal by AWSP and its elementary component board, the Elementary School Principals Association of Washington.

For Bruce, it's all about the power of collaboration. Since stepping into the principalship at Edison Elementary—a school with a large number of English language learners and a high level of poverty—he has built relationships among colleagues, students and parents. Known for his strong rapport with Edison students, Bruce is often spotted joining students for a chat over a brown-bag lunch, or practicing his Spanish skills to make a new student feel welcome, or getting a laugh out of the students as his alter ego, Bernard. Congratulations, Bruce!

Congratulations also to the Association's other Administrators of 2009, who were named earlier this year:

High School Principal of the Year: Aaron Leavell, Bremerton High, Bremerton SD
Every decision he makes, says Aaron, “has students at the center of it.” Leavell’s dedication to student achievement touches young people who otherwise may have given up on their education. He has established several programs to provide individualized learning, including a full-time online academy for students struggling with credit recovery, a center for students who have children or hold jobs during the school day, and a program for students with severe behavioral problems.

Middle Level Principal of the Year: Christine Lynch, Shaw Middle, Spokane PS
Christine is known throughout the school for bringing passion and purpose to her job as principal, which, she says, is “the best job in the world.” She has rallied the Shaw community to take collective responsibility for its students’ success. Supported by this sense of partnership, she is committed to making her motto—powerful instruction for all students—a reality. Says Christine, “I could never do this work alone."

Assistant Principal of the Year: Mike O'Donnell, Cle Elum-Roslyn High (Cle Elum-Roslyn SD)
Mike has fostered a culture in which students are empowered—and expected—to perform to their potential. His development of a student achievement database has allowed staff to gather, organize and share assessment data. With the database in place, the school has seen increased dialogue between students, advisers, teachers and parents. He also implemented a new program that links the earning of academic credit to attendance, yielding a 62 percent decrease in tardies and absences in just one year. Mike was a one of three national finalists
for the 2009 NASSP/Virco National Assistant Principal of the Year Award!

Newsflash: Principal Returns to School

Since when does a principal heading back to school in August make headline news? Since the name on the door to that principal's office is "Ms. Phelps."

When Debbie Phelps, mother of Olympic phenom Michael Phelps, returned to Baltimore recently, the media spotlight followed her — from Beijing right to Windsor Mill Middle School, where Monday she welcomed back 600+ students.

No doubt, Phelps’s version of "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" will outshine most at Windsor Mill, but the students aren't complaining. They'll reap the benefits of having a celebrity principal, who has her sights set on gold-medal performances in the classroom — and on the Maryland School Assessment for reading. This week, The Baltimore Sun reported:

Earlier this month, Phelps presented her students with a challenge called "Read Your Way to Beijing." On Aug. 8, the students received recorded phone messages asking them to read as many 100-page, age-appropriate books as possible between then and Sept. 8, she said. The winners of a drawing will get to spend an afternoon or evening with her son at the ESPN Zone, she said.

Together, Debbie and Michael Phelps have raised awareness of other education issues, including bullying and learning disabilities. Read about Michael Phelps's struggle with A.D.H.D. in the New York Times article "Phelps’s Mother Recalls Helping Her Son Find Gold-Medal Focus," and watch this joint interview with mother and son, in which Michael applauds his mom's commitment as a principal and describes his memories of being bullied in school. (Hint: To watch the video, download Silverlight when prompted and bear with the commercial; then, to view the mother/son portion of the interview, slide the arrow directly under the screen to the 15:00 mark.)

National Board Certification Bonuses

Did you know that principals in Washington state who earned their National Board certification as teachers can now claim their state bonus as principals?

This year, the Legislature approved a bill that would allow teachers who become principals to take their $5,000 annual bonus with them into the principalship. The only catch? You must have been a teacher first -- you can't go back now as an administrator and earn the NBPTS certification in order to claim the bonus. This may be something the Legislature reviews in the next legislative cycle, according to AWSP's Director of Governmental Relations, Jerry Bender.

The original bill, Senate Bill 6930, sponsored by Sen. Rodney Tom (D-Medina), died last session but the idea was recouped in the final budget. Unlike the National Board bonus for teachers, the principal provision is not yet in statute. The bill was considered a way of encouraging teachers who earned the bonus and certification to consider next steps into school administration.

There are approximately 16 principals in Washington state who are affected by this new proviso.

Educational CEOs

Like fathers, blondes and next-door neighbors, principals have acquired a certain stereotyped status in movies and on TV. The mischaracterizations usually fall toward the inept (think Principal Skinner on The Simpsons) or the controlling (a la Ed Rooney in Ferris Bueller's Day Off). The reality is, few people know or understand what principals really do.

That's what makes this NPR piece noteworthy. Reporter Larry Abramson highlights some of the challenges facing today's "educational CEOs" hitting on the increasing number of retirements and mounting pressure to raise student achievement. It's a short story, but it's a refreshing take on the reality of the principal's office.

How would you characterize your role as a school administrator? Are you an educational CEO? Or are you an instructional leader? Both? Something in between?

Most Prestigious Occupations

The research crew at Harris Interactive is out with the results of a new poll today that puts teachers in the mix of the six "most prestigious occupations."

According to Harris, half of U.S. adults polled by telephone between July 10 and 16 identified six occupations as having "very great" prestige: firefighters (61%), scientists (54%), teachers (54%), doctors (52%), military officers (52%), and nurses (50%). They are followed by police officers (46%) priests/ministers/clergy (42%) and farmers (41%).

Interestingly, the perception of teachers in this poll has risen significantly -- by 25 points from 29 to 54 percent -- in the 30 years since the poll was first started. Athletes, by contrast, have fallen 10 points from 26 to 16 percent. Some other established professions have also seen declines, including scientists (down 12 points), doctors (nine points), bankers (seven points) and entertainers (six points).

Principals, though not mentioned specifically in the mix, should take pride in these findings. After all, where do principals come from?

As the AWSP Executive Board discussed yesterday at its annual planning retreat, the development of principals, particularly principals of color, is largely dependent on the number of students who see teaching as professional calling. Therefore, the more that can be done to model teaching as a positive profession, the greater the opportunity for more young people to enter the profession and, perhaps, take the next step into educational administration.

In case you were wondering: the five occupations perceived by one-quarter or more of adults to have "hardly any prestige at all include stockbrokers (25%), union leaders (30%), entertainers (31%), real estate brokers (34%) and actors (38%).

Who Wants to be a Principal?

Fortunately, many educators still do. But a rash of news coverage questions why anyone would.

This is the time of year many administrators start thinking about the coming school year and must indicate their desire to stay in their current positions, change buildings, change grade levels, move into the central office or retire altogether. (In some cases, the district rearranges the players...)

Yesterday, AWSP was interviewed by The Olympian and KOMO Radio about the turnover in the principalship, particularly at the high school level. Although we don't keep stats on the changes, we do track the position changes for our own employment postings. Extremely long hours, coupled with high pressure and complex demands make that leadership position particularly demanding and subject to greater scrutiny -- and turnover. Then Newsweek hit the newsstands today with its annual "America's Best High Schools" feature.

In addition to stories about some great high schools around the country, the magazine takes a moment to examine the school leaders at work in these schools and acknowledges some of these same challenges. Be sure to check out "The Principal Principle" and the rest of the special issue. Then tell us what you think!

Is there more pressure on high school administrators? Or is the job of the principal generally just getting tougher?

Incidentally, 19 high schools from our state made the magazine's list of the top 5 percent (1,253) in the country.

Are Perceptions Reality?

Do you have a more optimistic view of your students' abilities than your teachers?

If you do, you're not alone according to the National School Boards Association. Their new study of 4,700 teachers and 267 principals and assistant principals in 12 school districts in 10 states found that principals were more likely than teachers to say that students can excel academically. The study is part of the NSBA's effort to gauge school climate. Among the findings:

• 94.6 percent of administrators agreed/strongly agreed with the statement, "Students at this school are capable of high achievement on standardized exams." 77.2 percent of teachers agreed or strongly agreed.
  
• 95.3 percent of administrators said teachers at their school would benefit from more professional development; only 68.1 percent of teachers thought so.
  
• More teachers (23.6 percent) than principals (7 percent) agreed/strongly agreed with the following statement: "Most students at this school would not be successful at a community college or university. 85.2 percent of administrators disagreed/strongly disagreed with the statement; 58.1 percent of teachers did.
  

Why the gap? Teachers spend more time in the classroom, the American Federation of Teachers told Ed Week Magazine, so they have "a more realistic picture of what it would take to get [students] over the hurdles."

Why do you think there's such a difference in the findings?