Two weeks, three principals
Thurgood Marshall High School has a new principal... again.
The Northeast Baltimore school started the year with an assistant principal temporarily filling the principal's seat. Then, at the Sept. 9 school board meeting, a new principal was appointed: Harold Belcher, who was the assistant chief administrative officer of D.C. Public Charter Schools. But Belcher never arrived and, this week, when the school board met again, his appointment was rescinded "at his request," according to the personnel agenda. James Dudley, a city schools administrator who was without an assignment, was named managing assistant principal (aka, acting principal) through Jan. 9.
Meanwhile, North Avenue evidently listened to repeated complaints from teachers that the assistant principal who's been in charge was not effective, as a new a.p. was appointed, too: Gregory Holmes from the system's career and technology office.
I've met a number of impressive teachers from Thurgood Marshall over the years, but the school -- scene of a horrible shooting in 2004 -- has always seemed to be lacking in leadership. Here's hoping the third time's a charm.
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Comments
Thurgood Marshall DOES have impressive teachers and decent students. It is unfortunate that it has never had leadership that the teachers and students deserve. The administrators have ranged from nice but inept to vindictive, inexperienced and incompetent. The system should be ashamed to have allowed that to go on for so long. I'm proud of the teachers for speaking out loudly enough to get someone's ear so a change - positive, I hope - can take place. Thurgood Marshall must, and can, live up to the legacy of the great man after whom it is named.
Posted by: avalon | September 25, 2008 5:46 PM
The problem that Thurgood has always had from the begining when the school started is LEADERSHIP. The school needs a pragmatic leader that can build it from the ground up. Like the previous comment says there are good teachers and students they have just been let down by the leaders.
Posted by: Falcon | September 25, 2008 8:27 PM