Principals' Office

Sleepless Nights

As the school year gets into full gear, there are bound to be particular issues that you are facing as principals. So in the November/December edition of My Two Cents, we asked readers to let us know: What work-related issue keeps you up at night?

In addition to the responses featured in Principal magazine, here’s one more:

What issue keeps me up at night? Attendance! How can we teach our children when they are not here? What can we do to change the local culture so families will understand and believe that education has real value and will pay dividends forever? Once students are in the building, we are off and running, but we can't make a difference if they are not here.

Susan Hubbard, Principal
Up River Schools
Sleetmute, Alaska

Let us know – what specific school issue leaves you tossing and turning in the middle of the night?

Is the Economy Affecting Your Students and Staff?

In the September/October issue of Principal magazine, we asked principals to respond to the following My Two Cents question: How has the recession affected your students and staff in your school. Here are a few responses we received:

Teachers and support staff are feeling the effects of the recession and are looking at additional ways to earn income to make ends meet. Last year, we had more teacher applicants for the summer school program than any previous three years combined. Students, on the other hand, have been affected as their parents/guardians are faced with cutbacks and, ultimately, layoffs. We noticed an increase in outbursts that were not as significant at the start of last school year, possibly due to the added stresses in the home environment.

Robb Malay, Principal
Machananao Elementary School
Yigo, Guam

Recession impacts everyone—schools as well as businesses. As one would expect, we see more multifamily homes and increases in free and reduced-price lunches. Enrichment activities, such as field trips, are being limited or eliminated. Teachers are also impacted, as teaching positions have been eliminated due to budget cuts resulting in class size increases, which impacts student achievement.

Phyllis Jones, Principal
Baker Elementary School
Acworth, Georgia

Have you noticed a change in your faculty and students that can be attributed to the current state of the economy?

Countdown to Summer

As the end of the school year draws near, we’d like to hear about what’s going through your mind. Here’s this month’s My Two Cents question from Principal magazine: What’s the most difficult part of closing out the school year and what do you most look forward to as the school year comes to an end?

Here’s what some of you have responded:

What I most look forward to as the school year comes to an end is seeing the growth of the students and the progress they have made throughout the year. And then, of course—summer vacation!

Tammy D. Condren
Principal
Marion C. Early Elementary
Morrisville, Missouri

One of my two schools of which I am the principal is closing due to budget issues. The children whose school is closing are all coming to my other school, which is 10 minutes away. Therefore, I am looking forward to having all of my students together on one campus. The difficult part of closing will be not having a place for all of the outstanding teachers and staff who will be placed in other schools. Some staff will make little money and have a long drive from where they live. Tough times call for tough decisions and my heart goes out to all that are losing an integral part of their community.

Susan Summers Persis
Principal
W. F. Burns Oak Hill Elementary
Indian River Elementary
Edgewater and Oak Hill, Florida

Let us know your two cents!

What Would You Do With an Extra $100,000?

President Obama recently signed a multibillion-dollar stimulus package, so it seems so fitting that our My Two Cents question for this month is: If you had an extra $100,000 added to your budget, what would you do with it?

In addition to the responses printed in the March/April issue of Principal, here are what others had to say:

Tutors, additional teachers, and paraprofessionals have all served us well and they would be my number choice to add to our school. Number two would be high-quality staff development by professionals who are available for follow-up after the training.
 
Catherine Prentis, Principal
Cockrill Elementary
Nashville, Tennessee

Our school has attempted to consistently upgrade technology. I have heard and seen so many uses in the classroom for the new iPod touch. Since our building is wireless, I would purchase an iPod touch for students and staff. Knowing how to use the technology that is available is just as important as having it. I would also use a portion of the funds for staff professional development designed around the use of the iPod touch in the classroom.

Paul Wenger
Principal
Edgewood-Colesburg Elementary
Colesburg, Iowa

We are a small rural district in eastern Washington State, about 665 students K-12. Our special needs population continues to grow in number of students and severity of needs. Our staff would want to hire two paraprofessionals to provide greater support to our high-needs and medically fragile students. We’d also want to purchase smart boards, more digital cameras, and projectors.
 
Dwight C. Cooper
Principal, Reardan Elementary
Reardan, Washington

In what ways would your school benefit from an additional $100,000?

Share Your Best Advice

The My Two Cents question for this month is: What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve received from a peer or mentor, and how have you applied it in your career?

In addition to the responses published in the January/February issue of Principal, here’s what some of your colleagues have shared with us:

When someone makes a quick request in the hall or while you are walking with someone, your response should be “Let me think about that and I will get back to you.” With that response each time, I found I thought about what was our mission, did this align with our goals, and did we need to make a quick decision that was not an emergency. Interestingly, my staff appreciated the time I took and respected my decision when we discussed the rationale!

Nancy S. Frenette
Principal
Braintree Elementary School
Braintree, Vermont

Every principal should allocate a certain amount of time—whether it’s 8, 12, or 15 hours a day—that they will normally spend doing their work. And when that time is up, leave and enjoy home, family, or other activities. If you do, you will find that you tend to be more energetic, prioritize your work flow, minimize your distractions, and accomplish more over time. I have followed this principle every day of my life as a principal. 

Jim Baldwin
Principal
Centre Ridge Elementary School
Centreville, Virginia

Add to the conversation by offering your best advice with fellow principals.

Curl Up With a Good Book

In the November/December 2008 issue of Principal magazine, we asked principals to let us know what book should be on every principal’s bookshelf. Responses to the My Two Cents question included such titles as The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow by John C. Maxwell, Bringing Out the Best in Teachers: What Effective Principals Do by Joseph Blasé and Peggy C. Kirby, and Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson.

What do you think of these suggestions? What is your go-to book and why do you think every principal should read it?

What Are Your Two Cents?

Happy new year! With the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year comes your September/October issue of Principal magazine. As you’ll notice, we’ve introduced a new section to the magazine titled Member Voices. Among the items on the Member Voices page will be “My Two Cents,” in which principals offer their thoughts on a particular question.

The question for this issue was: If you could ask the presidential candidates one question about their stance on U.S. education, what would it be and why?

Here’s what some of you have responded:

School reform in the last decade has translated to many of us educators as unfunded mandates with an over concentration on assessment and a focus on failure. That being said, what legacy do you plan to leave?

Jan Borelli
Principal
Westwood Elementary School
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The current strong federal (NCLB) and state accountability standards have changed the nature of education in America. Do you feel that the burden of testing imposed by those accountability standards has improved or impacted the level of excellence of U.S. K-12 education?

Katherine Ralston
Principal
North River Elementary School
Mt. Solon, Virginia

What question would you ask?