At last week's "State of our Schools" speech, Superintendent Ann Clark mentioned how Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is focusing on developing principals. A recent report from the Wallace Foundation gives some more specifics about what the district is doing.
CMS is one of a half-dozen districts across the country to receive grants from the foundation to work on their principal pipeline. They got $7.5 million over five years, beginning in 2011.
The report describes some of the programs CMS has set up. A few things they've done:
- Created a set of "super standards," or things they're looking for in a school leader. Take a look at an early version of them on pages four and five of this document. They were updated in 2014 to include these. District leaders also got together to come up with rubrics for grading principals on the metrics. For example, how would an aspiring principal demonstrate "belief in children"?
- Required principals to take a university preparation course. Before, principals were encouraged to complete one, but alternatives were allowed. Now, CMS told the Wallace Foundation, aspiring principals need to do one of these courses with Winthrop, Queens, UNC Charlotte or Wingate and the alternatives are being phased out.
- Tweaked the criteria for entering the principal "talent pool" from which CMS hires leaders. Changes have alternated between being more and less restrictive, and one person interviewed said CMS has yet to hit the "sweet spot."
- Created a five-year support program for new principals that begins with a "consultant coach" and ends with a capstone project with the McColl Center for Art and Innovation.
- Added an executive director of leadership development
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28 comments:
...and in the end this accomplishes - what?
Or better yet, just promote friends.
... principals like administrators are trained to keep that milk and honey flowing and manna falling from heaven ... $$$$$$ ... got it ?
Can we start with principle training of correct grammar first? Sayings like "she did not asks me" and "we ain't got that kind of money" are just things I don't want my child learning and if the principle is saying them than I can't imagine what the teachers are saying since...teachers are a reflection of their principle.
If a principle ever used the word ain't or asks it should be automatic firing....in my book anyway.
Dear Anonymous poster at 9:44 a.m.
For a grammar Nazi, you sure need help spelling "principal" correctly.
And any parent who can't distinguish between "principal" and "principle" should have their children automatically taken away and put in foster care! Right?
really pleased to see Mr. Dunn bring up this topic. Since CMS hired the 2013 principal of the year from Central Cabarrus High, Lynn Rhymer, we have been given an opportunity.
I have maintained that a school is merely a reflection of the community in which it serves. However with both North Meck and Hopewell, the schools are not a reflection of this community since virtually all of the white middle class families here send their children elsewhere or have moved further north. So this begs the question, will Ms. Ryhmes make a positive impact with regards to student achievement at North Meck (a virtually all black school) when she came from a school that served a 60% white,14% Hispanic and 22% African Amercian student population. I am very curious to see how effective Ms. Rhymer will be at North Meck with an entirely different demographic make up of students.
That executive in chargevof leadership development...Is George going to get to fill that wuth one of his admirers?
When are we going to get tyat unbiased examination of what went on with the firing of Morrison? Until then, I'll continue to believe CMS' leadership is just one big cabal and that nepotism is how "leaders" are appointed.
Homophone
Out of principle, the principal believes in the importance of speaking proper grammar.
Alicia
Several principals were hired within the past few years ago who were (are) inept (even as teachers), but they got the job. Now they are working themselves up the ladder. Think this is called the Peter Principle, when one rises to their level of incompetency and all those around him/her turn a blind eye.
9:44--I believe what you are hearing is not "she did not asks me", but instead "she did not aks me". Pronouncing the word "ask" as "aks" is quite common in the black community. That does not qualify it as proper English though, and I certainly don't think an educator should be using it.
After a day as busy as a stump-tailed cow in fly time, I axe ya'll bunch of numpties that ain't got the good sense God gave a rock to get off ya'lls davenports and come on down the access road a piece where my back packs at with some catdaddy pop that'll make ya'll happy as a dead pig in the sunshine.
Well, shut my mouth. Eh?
Alicia
Alicia?
gotne catheads?
CMS does not prepare principals. AXE anybody.
Lawdy be, did someone EVER pick the wrong place to make a grammar error.
C'mon, y'all...
But I agree that any teacher who says "aks" for "ask" should get the axe (or ax - which is a short-handled axe for those who don't know).
If this were a criteria, CMS would have to fire 1/3 of their workforce.
Frankly,
I'd prefer an adz. It's even more precise.
Teachers care to comment on this one?
I wish CMS would do somethig else with a principal they dismiss from a school instead of putting them in another school to mess up another bunch of teachers.
So I hate naming names..Honestly, but if I didn't you all would look at me like I'm sort fool just rambling, but here is the story:
So there is a principal in CMS, well he is an assistant principal now, he has shifted from being an elementary school principal. Cornelius Elementary to be exact where the parents and teachers called virtually every news and radio station talking about how he treated students and teachers like crap and was a bully. So they sent him to a small "middle college" high school program for a couple of years as some sort of "time out" then to a small, school within a school program at a high school in southwest Charlotte and now a South Charlotte elementary school as an assistant principal. (Cool points for anyone who knows who I'm talking about) Not saying he is a bad guy or anything but how many times did you all have to move him before they realized leading a school wasn't for him?
Other examples:
1. Former Principal of Vance High is sent to Middle School as principal for a couple of years then demoted to assistant principal before becoming a curriculum coordinator in another district.
2. Let's not even talk about the revolving doors at West Meck, Whitewater Middle, International Business at Olympic (Now named International Development & Entrep or something) and Harding where principals come and go like the carasouel at the McDonald's PlayPlace (I don't know if those still exist but you get the picture)
Anyone care to add? I'm just noticing these schools have no stability anymore. As a child in the 90s I had the same principal K-4 (Pamela Brown, Reid Park IB) 6-8 (Joey Burch, J.M. Alexander) and Jimmy Poole/Burch at North Meck.
How about the Asst. Principal at Providence High that was one of the highest paid in CMS.
He was making over $150,000 as an ASSISTANT. Great work Ellis. I would have taken all I could as well from CMS. They deserve it.
CMS you have now driven the last 2 leaders out of the profession altogether. Good luck finding as you say the "best and brightest".
10:38, I agree Ellis was making too much. But the former principals of the now defunct Waddell High were making $120-140k range when they were demoted to AP jobs in the district
What about the Ipad principal who just wants to get his school in the news?
Oh the tales us teachers could tell.....
Does power school ever work? What a joke.
Also,
You that scam they do every time a principal leaves? Here it goes, Hey parents and students, we know you loved your last principal so let's make a principal profile of what you would like to see in your new principal...We promise whatever you want you will get. In reality the candidate has already been selected we're just giving him or her time to pick out who he or she likes at their old school to bring here with them.
Heath couldn't um complete a sentence without uh couple of uh ums and uhs.
Please do not blame teachers for CMS administration. Teachers are pawns... Not reflections.
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