Message from the Superintendent

Printed in the April 2012 edition of the Judson Journal

 

As many of you may already know, I recently held a “leadership academy” at Judson High School. As part of that academy, I spent three weeks as acting principal of the school. All secondary assistant principals were part of the academy, and so were curriculum specialists, principals and others. I’m a big believer in leading by example – so, instead of telling administrators exactly what I want to see in every one of our schools, I thought it would be best to show them.


I learned two major things during my time at Judson High School. First, I remembered how much fun it is to be hands-on, to interact with the students and walk the halls and classrooms. I also learned that not much has changed since I was a principal. Students still push the boundaries sometimes, but they crave discipline and structure. It’s our job to set limits for them, focus on instruction and lead by example.


We spent most of our time walking the campus. We went into classrooms, observed teachers, and then met for daily round-table discussions, where we debriefed and compared notes. I saw a lot that we should all be proud of. I saw some really outstanding teachers who give their all every single day. I also saw a few areas, where we, as a district, need to make some improvements. And that’s the idea of a “leadership academy” – it’s a chance to assess the situation, critique it and come up with workable solutions that can easily be implemented.


I want our administrators to spend the majority of their time in classrooms, and to be visible in hallways and outside when parents are dropping off their students. Only about 30% of their job should be dedicated to managerial tasks – 70% should be on leadership.


Teachers should be outside their classroom doors, greeting students as they walk in. I also expect bell-to-bell instruction. The first ten minutes and last ten minutes of each class are the highest points of learning – so students should not be wasting that valuable time. We are only cheating the students if we don’t teach them every minute we can.


I expect every school to be kept clean and neat. Students deserve to be proud of their campus and it’s all of our jobs to ensure that the job is getting done.


Also, even though we are nearing the end of school, we cannot look the other way when students are violating the dress code. We need to make sure that we continue to enforce this, no matter what. And remember, phones and other mobile devices should be kept in purses or pockets – they should not be visible and in-use on campus.


Overall, I believe the “leadership academy” was a success and we will likely continue to do this in the future at other campuses. As we go forward, let’s give our students our very best every day. The higher our expectations, the more likely they are to meet and exceed them. The more successful we are, the more successful our students will be.

Sincerely,

Dr. Willis Mackey, Superintendent