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Jan Childs receives the Joe Richardson Award at the 2008 New Principals Reception
"Jan Childs, the principal of Wells Primary School in Jones County, clearly demonstrates the characteristics of a learning leader. When she and her team opened the school, they used effective group processes to determine the kind of school that would best fit the community and the staff by asking the stakeholders what their ideal school would look like.
From that beginning, total involvement of all members of the staff has characterized the school. All staff members are parts of learning teams. All members collect, display, and use data to improve their processes and to determine the next steps to take in order to improve their learning and the learning of their students.
Jan utilizes teamwork in order to accomplish all the tasks at Wells Primary. She is a team leader, a team member, and a team encourager. Continuous learning for all characterizes Wells Primary, where they demonstrate that learning is essential AND that learning for all can be FUN. Just walk through the doors of this school and you will enter a unique environment--one that demonstrates the year's theme and the school's progress.
Jan Childs is indeed an exemplary leader, who encourages her team to work together to improve student achievement and staff learning and is therefore this year’s recipient of the Joe Richardson Award for Exemplary Leadership."
-Dr. Ronda Tighe, Executive Director of the Principals Center
If the 2008-09 school year is your FIRST year as a school principal and you want to be on the invitation list to a very special event in your honor, please contact us so we can add you to the list. Save Tuesday, April 28, 2009 for a special evening at the Carter Center in Atlanta.
CURRENT AND FORMER SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
Reflect On Their First Year As A School Principal
"No one told me..."
I shouldn't expect to get home by 7 pm.
That my pants wouldn't fit by Christmas.
How much time it takes just to answer/respond to e-mails and to open/ read “snail mail.”
I would wake up @ 3:00 am several mornings per week, thinking about things that need to be done at work.
That I would use so much of my OWN money.
I would be working 14 hour days.
That the secretary could not type!
Leadership in practice looks really, really different from leadership in theory.
Some adults are unhappy and want to stay that way forever.
Adults “REALLY” are big kids.
How to take a break so that I won't break.
"Tips from me to new principals…"
Try your best to keep “normal” hours.
Don't neglect your family.
Take time for yourself.
Say “no” to having a school cell phone.
Make weekly to-do lists.
Always speak positively.
Believe in yourself.
Eat healthy and exercise.
Stay current on professional best practices.
Follow 4 easy steps (1) put children first, (2) put children first, (3) you may be tempted to concern yourself more with the satisfaction of the adults in the building. If so, see step #4, (4) put children first.
Burn the budget slowly.
Calendar family and work-out activities and try to the keep the dates.
Reach out to other principals. Their stories are worse than yours.
Listen more, talk less.
Your actions will tell the story.
Manage your time wisely and plan ahead.
Never ignore an invitation!
"I wish I had known before becoming a principal…"
Things are never as easy as they appear.
Do your homework.
That when we improved our dismissal process parents would write mean things about me in the newspaper.
My pants wouldn't fit by Christmas.
Teachers and parents would be less cooperative than the students.
A little more information about writing PDP's.
How upset ADULTS get when they don't get their way!
How much like the students (children), teachers can be.
How to organize/store all the information that comes across my desk.
How to help difficult/resistant teachers manage change.
How to start slow to go fast later when implementing change.
How to terminate incompetent teachers quickly.
How much sleep I would lose.
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