In the Bronx, an unlikely success story
There's a good article in today's New York Times about a principal -- who happens to be a Hasidic Jew -- who's had surprising success turning around a middle school in the Bronx. Shimon Waronker was met with a lot of skepticism when he arrived at Junior High School 22, which had been on a list of the 12 most dangerous schools in New York City. The overwhelming majority of the school's students are black and Hispanic; Waronker surprised them with his ability to speak Spanish. Over the past three years, he has replaced more than half the school's teachers and earned his fair share of critics. But NYC schools chancellor Joel Klein (who was Andres Alonso's boss when he was deputy chancellor there) is quoted in the article saying he'd clone the principal if he could.
Finding great principals, giving them autonomy and holding them accountable for the results: That's the heart of school reform efforts in New York, and now in Baltimore. The question, when these principals are successful, is what lessons can be learned for all schools?
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
In my opinion, nothing can be learned unless a school system can find a way for these successful principals to convey their techniques to others. Too often, schools are treated like little fiefdoms within the kingdom of the greater area. The principals are so compartmentalized that they don't have a lot of idea what's going on in other schools.
There are principal meetings once a month, but the meetings are so packed with information that needs to be disseminated that they don't get a lot of opportunity to confer with their peers and colleagues. I've also noticed that, at the principal meetings I get to attend, there is a tendency for people to clump into the same groups repeatedly. This, of course, is a human nature thing, but perhaps an effort to break it up sometimes can be beneficial.
As I understand it, part of the BCPSS restructuring plan will involve some principals acting in a kind of mentoring, or "first among equals" capacity with other schools in their immediate geographic area. Perhaps this will give them good opportunities to collaborate.
Posted by: Claude | February 9, 2008 9:38 AM
Mr. Waronker actually suspends students and started a student uniform policy--that's more autonomy than what Principals have in Baltimore City.
Posted by: ConcernedCitizen | February 9, 2008 3:39 PM
Principal autonomy must be implemented immediately, to break schools from the suffocating and dizzying array of poorly planned top-down initiatives that were started by Area Academic Officers in years past. HOWEVER, with implementation of principal autonomy comes the absolute responsibility of ensuring that the leaders you put in place are competent, strong, and willing to make the difficult decisions that will move their schools forward. The leaders must be able to build relationships with the teachers and ensure that teachers are supported, mentored, provided with necessary resources, and made to feel that they are part of the school's revitalization.
I dare say that similar to Mr. Waronker replacing half his teaching staff in NYC, the BCPSS will need to replace many principals to ensure that the reforms are implemented effectively. I worked at a school in BCPSS where the principal was competent, strong-willed, and supportive of her faculty. It made a world of difference when comparing stories with colleagues from other schools with incompetent leadership.
Posted by: Artie | February 11, 2008 9:02 AM