Looking Ahead: New Program Builds Principals of Tomorrow

By COREY TURNER
Houston Community Newspapers
Published: December 17, 2008

Nachelle Scott, principal intern at Humble Middle School, speaks with her cohorts from the academy. Scott is one of three Humble Independent School District employees in the Houston A+ Challenge program for future principals.

As principal intern Nachelle Scott led the discussion among her fellow cohorts, Humble Middle School Principal Marie Flynn beamed with pride as she looked on.

Scott, who works with Flynn at HMS, led the discussion in the school library on Dec. 12 as part of a Houston A+ program that prepares educators to become principals.

The independent nonprofit has actively supported public school reform efforts in the Greater Houston area since 1997. This year, Scott is among 19 interns who are part of a new principal academy that aims to recruit, prepare and support aspiring principals.

“It has just been an unbelievable experience and the lessons learned thus far have been invaluable,” said Scott, who has spent 11 years in education.

The last two years of her career have been with Humble and her mentoring principal said the program has made a significant impact on Scott.

“We originally brought her here because of her expertise as a literary coach,” said Flynn. “She came here confident and was a great addition to our team. What this program has done is given her the opportunity to learn in a unique environment and apply skills that she already possesses.”

The three-year academy begins with an intensive six-week summer program, followed by a year-long internship at a public school under the tutelage of a mentor principal and an academy coach.

The summer intensive program includes extensive research, coursework and opportunities to learn directly from principals that helped to turn around crisis campuses. The course work includes systems thinking, leadership scenarios and case studies; building relationships and trust through communication; analyzing school and student achievement data; solving problems in budgeting and resource allocation; and adapting leadership learning to diverse situations.

Walter Hunt is currently a principal intern at Humble High School and said the program has had a significant impact on his development as an administrator.

“One of the things I have really appreciated is the way we are learning to break down data and use that information effectively to have a positive and uplifting impact on a campus,” Hunt said.

Before coming to Humble ISD, Hunt spent five years in the Aldine Independent School District and three years in the Klein Independent School District. He said his teaching experience before going into the program proved to be valuable and the program has helped him a lot in his Humble High School internship thus far.

Hunt also said that learning from other principals in the summer program provided helpful insight on how to turn a campus around.

“Through this program we are learning what to expect in terms of the day-to-day aspects of being a principal,” Hunt added. “We are learning how one decision here and there may impact us down the line and how to think critically as we work to accomplish goals.”

Another local participant in this year’s inaugural cohort group is Dedri Taylor, who has been with Humble ISD for 12 years now as a high school English teacher. She will finish the program on the middle school level and recently earned her Master of Education in Administration from Sam Houston State University.

Combining her experiences has made the progression toward becoming a principal a well-rounded experience.

Sheri Miller-Williams, who is the director of leadership, said having people from a variety of districts, with a variety of experiences like Taylor’s, helps make the interactive aspect of the program even more effective.

“We have created a unique network of professionals that will continue to grow as our program grows,” Miller-Williams said. “That makes the lessons even more powerful because they can come together and share unique perspectives. Then they can apply that knowledge received at their own respective schools.”

This year, the 19 interns are stretched across six school districts including Humble, Houston, Aldine, Spring, Spring Branch and YES Prep Public Schools.

Myra Richardson is one of the few interns in the program that doesn’t have administrative experience. She is currently spending her ninth year in education as a middle school teacher at Bailey Middle School in the Spring Independent School District.

Richardson has enjoyed the interactive learning experience and said that it makes it easier to apply what she learns to how she manages her classroom each day.

“Over the summer, they brought in current principals that took over and changed crisis schools,” she said. “They talked about changing the culture of the school and student achievement. To hear what they had to say and to listen to how they turned their schools around step by step was really powerful for me.”

In addition to current principals and the program leaders, interns also learn from each other through team projects during the school year.

After spending four days each week on their own campuses, the interns meet each Friday at another intern’s campus. Those days are spent working side by side after classroom evaluations on that campus, along with prep work for the state’s principal certification exam.

“I’ve really become a better educator and a better person in general from this experience,” Richardson said. “In addition to all the great knowledge I am getting about education and being a good principal, I am learning a lot about the importance of relationships and working with people to get positive results.”

Log onto The Observer website to read the full article and to learn more about the program.

Upcoming informational

Those interested in learning more about the program and how to apply for next year’s class can hear directly from this year's principal interns and speak with academy faculty at the upcoming information sessions.

WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 7, 4:40-6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Houston A+ Challenge, 2700 Southwest Freeway, Suite B, Houston, TX 77098

INFO: www.houstonaplus.org