by Mel Riddile

As principals, we attend numerous meetings, conferences and events. Memories of most of those events tend to fade quickly, but I will never forget a meeting in Richmond, Virginia. I cannot recall the exact year that I was attending the Virginia High School Summit hosted by then Governor, now Senator, Mark Warner. Warner had an active interest in education and his administration worked closely with Randy Barrack, Executive Director of the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals.
As a former business leader and founder of Nextel, Warner was focused on workplace readiness. He had come to believe that the senior year in high school was a waste of time and that schools needed to ramp up the rigor in twelfth grade to help prepare students for postsecondary education and training. Warner spoke early in the day and addressed specific strategies that schools could employ to make the senior year more meaningful. The fact was, that most of the principals were already doing or lacked the funds and resources to do what he proposed. As the principal of an International Baccalaureate high school, the only concern that I had about the senior year was reducing the stress that our students experienced from overwork.
Immediately preceding lunch, NASSP Executive Director, Gerry Tirozzi was scheduled to speak. Gerry was introduced and in his opening statement made it very clear where he was coming from. He said, “It’s nice to talk about the senior year, but we have to get the students to the twelfth grade first, and then we can worry about making it more challenging.” This woke up the crowd and Gerry received a resounding ovation. I thought, finally somebody understands. That was a great principal moment.
I had another principal moment when I read Gerry’s editorial in the December NewsLeader titled “Untie My Hands: A Principal’s Plea.” As a long-time school leader, I had a strong visceral reaction to this article. Many of Gerry’s points touched a nerve. Here is my personal take on some of the key points:
- Judging principals on only one dimension, instructional leadership, only looks at one aspect of what we do ranging from being a transportation director, to a food services manager, to a security specialist, and a professional development specialist. For a comprehensive list, see the October 2009 National Principals Month resolution.
- It’s About Time! – It takes time to improve a school. Quick fixes don’t work. Annual fads with no follow-up don’t work. In many situations, including one turnaround that I was personally involved in, a sense of false urgency has been transformed into a state of panic.
- Give us the tools! Don’t cut my staffing and demand that we raise student achievement. We have less to do more. That means that the people that we do have must be more productive. So, what happens next? Our professional development budgets are eliminated. Isn’t it odd that the first thing educators cut when there is a financial crisis is education—the training and development of our own people? What message is that sending about the importance we play on education?
- Make an effort to understand us and the important work that we do. Respect the long hours and hard work that school leaders already put in. It is amazing how quickly people forget where they came from.
- Gerry points out that accountability must be a reciprocal process. If I want more from you, it is my responsibility to give you more support, resources, and training. Take a minute to read Gerry's article in NewsLeader. I hope that it will inspire you as much as it did me.