In Focus with ... Karl Koehler
On December 9, 2009, Houston A+ Challenge hosted an Aspiring Principals Luncheon to spotlight Cohort Two of our Regional Principal Leadership Academy. At the event, audience members heard from three aspiring principals currently participating in yearlong residencies with mentor principals in local public schools.
Below are remarks from Karl Koehler, who started the year as a Principal Intern at Atascocita Middle School in Humble ISD, and in December was promoted to the principal seat (as Thyrun Hurst moves on to open a new school in Humble).
Board members, Superintendents, Principals, Houston A+ team members, Cohort I and II, and guests… Good afternoon. My name is Karl Koehler, Cohort II intern, and now pleased to say for the first time, Principal of Atascocita Middle School in Humble ISD.
When 19 members of Cohort II started our Summer Intensive in June 2009, we were told by Director of Leadership Sheri Miller-Williams that we were unpolished diamonds, and that the Regional Principal Leadership Academy would polish us into sparkling diamonds. From geology, we know that only the right conditions of intense heat, pressure, and chemistry create diamonds. Then, diamonds must be mined & chiseled out of hard rock before being polished.
Well, the whole Houston A+ team, including our A+ coaches, provided some heat during the 6-week Summer Intensive. Notably, our experiences -- such as 360-degree feedback, warm & cool feedback for our Teachable Point of View Vision statement, difficult conversations while being filmed, and situations like an impromptu panel of angry parents -- served as the pressure that squeezed our knowledge & beliefs about instructional leadership into greater clarity. The challenge of those six weeks prepared us for the internship experience. With the utmost gratitude, the cohort collectively thanks you.
Now, over the past three-plus months of our internship residency, we have experienced steadily increasing pressure of the principal’s seat. Personally, I have witnessed custody battles being officiated by the principal, and observed how a leader navigates opposition, leads leadership meetings, and planns & conducts professional development. Additionally, we are doing an action research project – a thorough, deep analysis of a campus problem and potential solution.
This research plan has me delving into literature, drawing up data to my own inquiries, and analyzing data like never before. This pressure continues to help us become a polished diamond. Just as we each appreciate our mentor principals, I want to personally thank my mentor principal, Thyrun Hurst, for allowing me to sit in and participate in difficult conversations and oft-times lead the campus. Thyrun has modeled an incredible level of trust for his leaders, plus also exhibited much courage & integrity. Simply through observation, I have learned more about the role of a principal in the last four months as an intern than in my years as an assistant principal.
At the end of the summer intensive, each intern was required to identify our own strengths and weaknesses, and then fill out a plan to develop both areas. My greatest area to address was confidence. As Stan Smith is quoted saying: "Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it."
I have much experience in my 12 years in education, but because I didn’t have the confidence, I didn’t always execute the task. I can say, thanks to the RPLA experience, I have a growing level of confidence to address educational issues head on. First, with my principal’s blessing, a team and I started a dialogue on the achievement gap. Second, increased confidence has amplified my assertiveness to speak with teachers in a timely manner about concerns.
Lastly, Houston A+ has provided tools & resources to help me be successful on my campus. For example, much like my fellow cohort members, I have used Critical Friends Group protocols to facilitate adult work. Resources from speakers like Larry Bell, Kent Peterson, Anthony Muhammad, Lisa Delpit, & Theresa Perry are visible at times in the work at Atascocita Middle School. Houston A+ is helping me, and the cohort, become the transformational leaders that all of us are aiming to be.
Heat and pressure are never comfortable, but the diamonds – us, Cohort II – developing through this program are more polished now than six months ago. I know the road ahead will be challenging, but support from our cohort family, the A+ team, and an ever-expanding circle of mentor principals and school leaders will, no doubt, help us impact teaching and learning in the greater-Houston area.
God’s Blessings, Happy Holidays, & Merry Christmas!
