My Love-Hate Relationship With My High School Principal

Change, for me has always been quite a scary and difficult concept. I want constants. I want to feel comfortable, and I am too stubborn to try new things. Though undesired, change is inevitable and I know life must move forward; so here I am, a shy, insecure, seventh grader moving forward onto my first day of junior high. I knew this was going to be terrifying simply by the size of the school; all four foot nine inches of me stood paralyzed at the main entrance of Poston Junior High. Not knowing who I would have in my classes or who I would sit with at lunch had to be the worst part. As I walked into my third hour, which was choir, I realized I knew nobody; sheer terror flushed over my face as I peered around looking for the friendliest face

Because of the principal’s silence, Mr. Jones did not demonstrate a balance on his task of managing the day to day to ensure the efficiency of the operations of the school. Also, he did not achieve the task of enabling or removing obstacles that the learning community encounters to continue the learning process. Even yet, when he decided to inform his faculty he should have act as the leader that he was supposed to be. He was not a successful leader, but just a manager when he did not motivate or create synergy between them. As a team, brainstorm ideas on how to challenge the school consolidation, could have been achieved.

With Mr. DeVaughn having recently retired, a situation has arisen to myself and to the other members of this board; we must begin the search for a new principal of Saltillo High School (SHS). This will, however, not be as simple a task as one might think, as we cannot simply select any random individual. We must choose the individual who is most fit for the job of running a school such as ours, and I was lucky enough to have the privilege of being the student who was selected to voice my opinion on this matter. I believe that I speak for the entire student body when I say that the new principal must possess specific qualities if he or she is to get the job and excel in his or her position. I believe that I speak once again for the rest of my fellow students when I say that we must select an individual who will best represent SHS as a whole: someone who has professionalism, who has moral values, and who has ambition.

Our Principal at Peoria Notre Dame High School allows change. My grade school principal hadn’t changed a thing, during my time in grade school. Mr. Simmons brought new traditions to school. For example, recognizing all the sports and clubs after school mass for their accomplishments. He hired new and younger faculty members, to create a better environment for young people.

All I thought was I am getting senioritis and it is only sophomore year. Looking back at now, I no that was not even close to senioritis. I dragged through the year not enjoying anything, I was only looking forward to vacation. A new opportunity opened up for me, my best friend decided to go to a different school. I thought she was crazy at first but then I thought about it and decided to go too. This was crazy, I never make changes especially big one that would eventually mean making new friends. Throughout the summer I met new people and became a little less fearful of the first day of school. I transformed by making a big decision to switch schools. This was the first step to moving out of my comfort

In our school, the principal is the head of our organization and since she does not have an Assistant Principal, is the head all alone. She has been principal for 10+ years at the same establishment and loves every day. She stresses to her staff the importance of student safety, student achievement, parental

Well it was January and teachers were ready for Spring 2008. The area superintendent was first on the morning agenda to share that Principal Mrs. C would no longer be a part of Creek Middle School, as she had decided to leave the district and seek employment elsewhere. The area superintendent was also there to introduce the interim principal that would be leading the campus until further notice. As Principal Mrs. D was being introduced teachers were whispering to one another about what was taking place at Creek Middle School. Principal Mrs. D took the floor and shared with staff about her experience as a teacher and principal. Mrs. D had actually retired after 35 years in education, and was a part of the district interim program where retirees

Being the new kid in an unfamiliar high school is not a simple task. I started my freshman year at my old rival high school with all new people. I had grown up

When I was in the fourth grade, I moved from a small Lutheran school of 100 to a larger publicly funded elementary school, Lincoln Elementary. Wow. Lincoln was a big school, full of a thousand different attitudes about everything from eating lunch to how to treat a new kid. It was a tough time for me, my first year, and more than anything, I wanted to

I felt as if he was marking his territory as principal and that he was making illogical assumptions about his staff. Like Margaret from Reframing the Path to School Leadership by Lee G. Bolman, I took the approach of “call him out on it” from the beginning, so that I would not be oppressed by him any longer. Internally, I struggled with this. On one account, I was scared to death to make such a sharp statement, but on another, I was highly offended by the implication that I was not doing my job. I was thankful it worked out in my favor in the long run.

The beginning of the Hollister High School 2014-2015 school year began like many of the previous school years, with new administrators being introduced to the instructional staff. The new principal made a covenant with the staff. He promised to be a leader who will stay in the building and finish whatever he started. The new instructional leader was promoted from assistant principal to the principal’s chair. In an effort to gain credibility with the staff in terms of following through with his promise to stick around until he is able to realize his vision, he built a house in the area. The building leaders in the past did not live in the district and their children were not enrolled in the Hollister R-V School District. Now that he was

Recently, the superintendent of the school decided to retire after serving eighteen years in the district. As the former superintendent, he single handedly hired nine of the fourteen building administrators, and likened himself to that of a corporate manager. He believed that the district’s success was his responsibility, and that he alone was to credit for the formation of unified administrators, and policies. Upon his retirement, the Board of Education conducted a national search to hire a new superintendent. The new hire, a former high school principal and assistant superintendent, has a very contrasting style of leadership. Her collaborative and distributive leadership styles are causing

But now I was confronted with one of the most difficult moments of my life thus far, transitioning from a relatively small middle school to a high school with upwards of 3,000 kids. I was faced with overwhelming nervousness on my first day of my freshman year, although I did not have anything to be afraid of. Old Bridge High School is divided into two buildings- a designated building for ninth graders, and a main building, as we call it, where all sophomores, juniors, and seniors have their classes. I was never exposed to the main building before my sophomore year, therefore, I remember the first day of my sophomore year being the most nerve-wracking, even more so than my first day of high school. This building was huge- there were older kids who knew where they had to be, and there was me, and many other now-sophomores, using their map to find their way to first period geometry. It took me a couple of weeks to adapt to my schedule, and even longer to adapt to the school. Because I didn’t know anyone who had gone through my school before me, I had no one to ask questions to, no one to help me around or with my work- I was all on my own, which made it that much more

I’ve had quite the learning experience over the last few weeks. I had a chance to obtain valuable information and support from my principal. I learned so much about the administration role and how difficult it can be. When I began my interview, I felt overwhelmed and excited at the same time. My principal is also my mentor; she has been very supportive of me pursuing my dreams to be in administrator. As I conducted my interview I learned so much about the principal’s role. I asked my principal a series of questions. The questions were based on the Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium Standards (ISLLC). My first question was based on educational programs. The educational programs at any school need balance. While we live in a test results world, there needs to be a balance of focus. I look at the type of student I want my school to produce and I surround myself with a faculty and other staffs that not only share in the mission, but also will help every student succeed. In addition, as an administrator, I need to provide my faculty and staff with the tools and resources necessary to make everyone feel successful.

The principal’s role in developing positive community relations sets the tone for communication patterns, partnership formation and/or alienation (Fiore, 2013). There are many tasks that the principal has that is important to school and community relations. Some of those are being a good listener, diplomatic and tactful and all situations. They also have to promote the open door policy to be free to communicate with students, parents, and their staff. They also have to inform the superintendent and community about good and bad things that are