The Junior Class Principal

Today I spent my entire morning at Jefferson High School. I was lucky enough to shadow Ms. Donnie Whited, one of Jefferson’s esteemed assistant principals. Ms. Whited is actually one of my former teachers from Sam Houston High School and I was very excited last year when I heard that she would be one of the new principals under Ms. Cockrell at Jefferson. Ms. Whited was one of the most formidable elements of my time at Sam Houston High. She was the only teacher, in my personal opinion, who was not stopping at graduating students from high school, but also developing well-prepared GLOBAL leaders to step into the corporate world and take over. I contribute a large amount of my speaking skills and professionalism to Ms. Whited’s mentoring at Sam Houston. Anyways, enough gloating about the wonderful Ms. Donnie Windham Whited…

I arrived at Jefferson High at 8:45am, just in time to catch the school administrators in the halls rounding up all the students who were tardy to class. The admin were equipped with handheld devices that scanned student’s ID cards, loaded the appropriate offense into the database (tardiness) and then printed out a ticket (tardy pass) which listed the student’s name and also their history of prior offenses. So, all in one stop the student was stopped, notified, documented and then sent to class. If the student was in violation over a certain amount they would be held to the side and escorted to the detention hall. Ms. Whited notified me that these devices saved staff a tremendous amount of time and relieved so much paperwork. Efficiency at its finest.

As the tardy students were standing in line to receive their tardy passes, Ms. Whited walked along the line and inspected uniforms and shaving regulations. Yes, shaving regulations. Jefferson High has a rule that student’s must be clean-shaven, with an exception for mustaches. If a student was in violation they would be escorted to the detention hall, where they were provided a shaving razor and shaving cream and were required to shave. As we escorted the two students who were in violation of the shaving regulations to the detention hall I heard one of them mention, “Man, you know how many girls I got with this?” referring to his thin amount of facial hair, “Now I’m not going to get any of em…” I wanted to tell him that he was definitely better without it and should wait until he can grow a big boy beard before he chooses to stop shaving, but, I decided to just stay quiet and keep notes.

After dropping the peach fuzz crew off we then went to visit one of Ms. Whited’s students for a little positive reinforcement. She informed me that the student had been in a bit of trouble in the past and that they seemed to be on a better path now, so she wanted to go by their 1st period class to encourage them to keep it up. When Ms. Whited pulled the student out of class I realized that they were actually a special education student. At the end of their brief conversation the student gave Ms. Whited a hug and invited her to their ‘graduation party’ this year. Ms. Whited politely declined, but told them that she would gladly purchase a graduation gift instead. He left her off with another hug.

After our short visit Ms. Whited then walked me to the JROTC building. I won’t go too far into detail on this visit because I will be writing an exclusive blog on Jefferson’s JROTC program in the near future, but, to say the least, I am VERY impressed. I was lucky to be at Jefferson today because the U.S. Army was actually on campus with their Black Hawk simulators as well as an entire challenge course. As the students completed the course they were given a set of personalized dog tags. Not much else to say about that, it was just a nice coincidence that I came on the same day as this event.

After the JROTC visit and a few stops in between, we came back to Ms. Whited’s office so she could take care of some paperwork and also get her information together for her ‘Data Walks’. A Data Walk consists of admin visiting individual classes and going through a checklist of observation items. Each admin is equipped with an iPod Touch which has program that allows admin to simply check a box under each objective. Some of the objectives listed on the list are:

Is the teacher sitting or standing? Yes or No

Teacher’s location:
- At desk
- Front of room
- In teaching zone
- Not present

Learning Environment:
- Teacher Nest (messy, disorganized, clutter)
- Instructionally Purposeful (posters relating to content)
- Effective Classroom Management
- Door/Window Uncovered
- Visual Models

Administration is required by the district to complete 25 data walks per week for each grade level. This is a terrific policy considering it requires eyes-on accountability by administration. Even though it’s a matter of integrity whether or not personnel actually complete the data walks or just ‘pencil-whip’ the checks, I think with the proper oversight this would prove to create a more proactive administration as opposed to a reactive one. It’s easier to catch deficiencies in teachers when you have to do daily checks, as opposed to waiting for a student or parent to report a discrepancy.

All in all, today’s visit was a complete information overload, at least from the viewpoint of a blogger. But from the viewpoint of someone who is looking to enter the education field in the near future, it was a chance to experience the nonstop tempo of being an administrator at an inner-city high school. So, not much of a lesson/moral to the blog today, just a day in the life…well, half a day at least.

The First Impression

Considering this was the first week of school, I planned on my visit this week being an all-day ordeal. I thought that, considering it was Friday, no one would have the time to sit down with me and discuss how the first week went. I was wrong.

I went to the front office to sign in and while they called a member of the administration staff to ensure that I was clear to roam the halls, I decided to speak to a couple of students that were office assistants. Both young ladies were Seniors. Savannah was attending Jefferson High for her first year after transferring from Austin while Clarisa was in her fourth year as a Mustang. My interest was peaked by both because I wanted to get the perspective on someone who was coming from a totally different school as well as the perspective of someone who could compare past years at Jefferson to the current one. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to ask many questions at all. Both young ladies were very candid and open about their experiences at Jefferson High so far.

I began by asking how their first week went. They exhibited an amount of excitement that I had not expected. I expected a sigh and complaints about teachers or schoolwork or other students. Instead I got smiles, bright eyes and what I can only describe as a ‘sense of relief’ as they spoke about how helpful their teachers, counselors and principals have been with helping them throughout the first days of their Senior year. They informed me that everything was very organized, which made their first week nearly completely absent of any of the typical stress.

I then inquired about their thoughts about Principal Cockrell. When a student begins a description of their principal with “she’s very strict and doesn’t play games”, it is usually followed with complaints about how no one likes the principal and the amount of disdain for them around the school. Instead, these young ladies told me how “approachable” and “encouraging” that Principal Cockrell is. I asked Clarisa how she would compare the years before Cockrell to her time since Cockrell has taken over. She automatically lit up even further about how much more discipline there was at the school and how much better she felt about coming to school. It wasn’t a fearful type of description coming from this young lady; it was instead, a sincerely respectful description. One that you have for a family member who keeps you in line, yet makes you feel like you can come to them for anything.

Another thing the young ladies caused me to realize was that they didn’t feel like prisoners in school. They held respect for the admin and staff, but at the same time they were treated like equals. They weren’t looked down upon in a condescending manner. It seemed that the Jefferson staff truly practiced the motto “if you act like an adult, we’ll treat you like an adult”. But they also went a step further and seemed to groom students, who weren’t already adults, into the adults they were sure to be before Senior year.

Now you have to remember that I randomly met these two young ladies. I was waiting for my visitor’s pass when I introduced myself to them. These were not some ‘model students’ placed in front of me by the administration. So I was very surprised when I found out that one of the young ladies was in the process of establishing a Young Women’s Advocacy Camp…singlehandedly! If that wasn’t impressive enough, she informed me that she has already met with the SAISD Superintendent Dr. Duron and made her proposal for funding. I asked her who led her to Dr. Duron and she let me know that she contacted him herself.

I’ll see throughout the rest of the year whether these two young ladies enthusiasm stays at such a high level. I’ll also determine whether or not this interaction with two stellar students was just a circumstantial run-in, or whether this actually is a representation of what Jefferson High is developing as a whole. I pray for the latter, but if the former turns out true, I’ll write about that as well.

I sat in the front office for nearly an hour talking with these two young ladies. Turned out I didn’t even need a visitors pass because I never left that office. It’s funny how a simple hello can turn into such an impressionable interaction.

The Contrast

Today was the last official day of registration for 2011-2012 Jefferson High students. Since today was designated for Seniors and Juniors I thought it would be a great time to come out and ask parents and students if they have seen a difference since the new administration has been established halfway through the previous school year.

I began by meeting Ms. Whited (Jefferson VP) at the front door as I walked in. She was greeting the parents, assisting with handing out forms and directing them through the process. I asked her how everything was going and she said that it is going much better than other years she has been involved in the process. “Last year there it wasn’t nearly as organized. Parents and students didn’t know where to go and we had a line going out the door into the heat.” She then handed me a simple but explanatory checklist that each student/parent was handed as they came in the door. They were then directed to follow the checkpoints (separate tables for each step on the checklist) going down the main hallway. The checkpoints covered everything from Immunizations to Schedules/Transfers to Lunch Applications to ID cards. There seemed to be no confused faces as I walked past each table. I witnessed no frustration on the faces of students or parents, and best of all, the staff were all smiles, as usual.

As I walked into the cafeteria, which held various organizations tables (i.e. Yearbook committee, Textbook returns, school t-shirts) I saw the PTSA table. I decided to go over and ask them their opinion of the operations at Jefferson High School and how things have changed in the past year. I sat with Jefferson PTSA officers Jose and Sylvia Villanueva and began to ask them questions regarding membership numbers, participation, support from admin as well as their board trustee. They informed me that the previous year they had over 125 paying PTSA members at Jefferson High. I asked them what the key is to developing an active and effective PTSA and their response was something that I had known all along. The PTSA’s teacher’s participation lies with the school administration and the PTSA’s community participation lies with the board trustee. They then began to praise the efforts and support of Principal Cockrell as well as Board Trustee Ed Garza and informed me that without them, the PTSA wouldn’t be nearly as productive. The PTSA at Jefferson has been very active in the past few years due to the support of Ed Garza, but it has improved even more with the additional leadership and support of Ms. Cockrell. Mr. and Mrs. Villanueva also had many kind words for Dr. Duron, SAISD Superintendent. It is rare to hear kind words for Dr. Duron since he has been villainized by many in recent years for proposed school closures. Mr. and Mrs. Villanueva thoughts on the issue pretty much revolved around the fact that it was the Board Trustees' responsibility to oversee the Superintendent and make whatever changes were needed. Fortunately Jefferson High has a stellar Board Trustee that fights for the best in his schools and as a result, Dr. Duron is able to well execute his duties over the Jefferson area schools. But I digress; the effectiveness of the school according to Mr. and Mrs. Villanueva has plenty to do with the community and parental participation, both of which are largely affected by the effectiveness of the PTSA.

After signing up and becoming a paying member of the Jefferson PTSA I walked outside to finally speak to parents and students as they left the building. I stopped several individuals and asked them how the registration process went. Without hesitation they responded with comparisons to previous years and informed me that this year was a drastic improvement from the chaos of registration periods in the past. I also asked the students if they noticed any change within the past year and they all responded with positive feedback. Much of their feedback revolved around the increased behavior of the students at Jefferson. Less fights, less distractions and less stress.

I was at the school for nearly three hours and out of all the individuals I questioned, not once did I get a negative response. Toward the end of my visit I was walking with Ms. Cockrell and I asked her, “Why don’t more people hate you? With this kind of effective leadership, there’s an expectation that students, parents and staff must get chills when you come around.” She simply responded with a smile and a wink as she put her hand on the shoulder of a staff member and said, “How’s everything going honey?”

The Commission

General George C. Marshall was appointed as the Army Chief of Staff by President Franklin Roosevelt on September 1, 1939, the day before World War II began. Marshall held this position until the end of the war in 1945. As Chief of Staff, General Marshall was responsible for building the U.S. military force from its pre-WWII level of 190,000 troops to the peak level of 8.3 million troops in 1945 (yeah, and you thought YOUR job was tough).

Typically when a writer quotes someone like Marshall, you expect something eloquent, emotional and full of inspiration. But sometimes you just need something a bit more direct and to the point. “I don't want you fellows sitting around asking me what to do. I want you to tell me what to do.”

During my visit to Jefferson High this week I was able to sit in on a meeting among the school's counselors and CICs (Campus Instructional Coordinators). This seemed to be their first meeting of the year where they are presented the course offerings and the staff rosters for the year. As the paperwork was being distributed I expected to see a large amount of confusion and frustration among the personnel at the table. The director of the meeting informed the counselors that they would have the most strenuous schedule in the district this year consisting of a '5x5 block scheduling'. This meant that each student at Jefferson would complete a total of 20 classes for the entire year, while students at other schools remained at 16 - 18 classes per year. This is not only a vigorous schedule for the students to undertake, but a strenuous task for counselors to manage. On top of being handed all of this information in less than 30 minutes, the director of the meeting then informed everyone that all of the student's schedules were to be finalized by COB the next day.

Now, I've been in military meetings where commanders have set deadlines weeks ahead for taskings that required much less than what these counselors were expected to complete. Those meetings were usually left with an enormous amount of moaning, groaning and complaining from the folks tasked to complete the assignments. I expected to hear the same moaning and groaning from the meeting at Jefferson. Instead I was presented with a level of motivation and excitement that I would have doubted existed among school administration. Instead of the typical mentions of "this is bull..." and slumped shoulders, I heard "Let's get going!" with heads raised high and smiles that could have convinced me that they were all told that they were getting a well-deserved raise. It was as though these counselors actually enjoyed their jobs...yeah, crazy.

I walked out with one of the counselors who has worked in the school system for several years and asked her "Is this normal?" She replied by informing me that Principals and administration at other schools typically don't get this part of the planning process started until the school year actually begins. So for her it was a delight to experience such preparation ahead of time. She also mentioned that the organization of it all (scheduling, staff rosters, org layout, etc) was something she hadn't seen in other schools and something that she was very impressed/pleased with. She continued by breaking down to me the procedures that go into planning a school year and informed me that it wasn't a simple process.

I know it seems like I should have EXPECTED a high school counselor to know how to do their job, but what I was more impressed with is the fact that these counselors could not only do their own job, but also the job of the person above them. This is a concept that is encouraged in the military; to not only strive to master your job, but to also be able to take over your superior's job as well.

Did I mention that Principal Cockrell was not present during this meeting?

“I don't want you fellows sitting around asking me what to do. I want you to tell me what to do.”

The Mission

Education - the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process.

Advocate - one that defends or maintains a cause or proposal.

The purpose of this blog is to defend and maintain an educational process which allows our students to obtain a superior quality of knowledge and development, regardless of where that student resides.

In the past I have observed, critiqued and attempted to provide solutions to a broken education system. I have confronted administrations, staff, students, community members, local government officials and local school board officials. I attempted change from the outside; from a community member's vantage point. Unfortunately, that vantage point is not so advantageous. I was rejected and pushed away as a faulty school system remained deficient in the qualities and practices that make an institution of learning a success. As a result, I have chosen to temporarily move away from the point of the 'activist' and instead claim the role of the 'apprentice'.

Throughout the 2011-2012 school year, I will be spending time in the halls of Jefferson High School, an inner-city high school on San Antonio's Northwest side. I will be shadowing the veteran administrator Joanne Cockrell as she begins her second year as Principal in a school that previously represented many of our inner-city high schools; neglected, below average and fairly contented with both qualities.

In addition to observing the administrative operations of Principal Cockrell, I will also be interacting with fellow administrators, school staff, students, parents, community members and Mr. Ed Garza, who is entering his third-year as SAISD Board Trustee for the Jefferson High School community and its subsequent feeder schools.

I look forward to the opportunity to watch an environment of adversity be taken to a level of triumph. I am excited to witness the interaction between the different components that make a great school successful. Most of all, I look forward to spreading what I learn to those who are willing to listen. I will surely apply the practices I learn throughout this school year to my own operations in the future, but to know that I have helped distribute those same principles to others is the ultimate goal of this project.