Confessions of an Urban Principal/ I must remain the principal of Meade.

by Frank Murphy

Installment 7 of 8

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The lack of commitment and loyalty that my school district supervisors have shown towards me is disheartening.  It is clear that I am on my own in dealing with the challenges of my struggling school community.  In the face of this weighty responsibility, I continue to feel conflicted concerning my desire to remain at Meade.

I am sure that if I do stay, I will be able to make a positive difference in the lives of my children.  I do want to stay.  On the other hand I find myself continuously calculating the personal cost of doing so.  Does it make sense for me to continue to endure the level of stress to which I am exposed?  Should I retreat in order to fight another day?  Should I go to an easier place to live?

I am close to letting go of Meade and dropping into whatever the central office minions have in store for me. I am thinking that doing so would be easier than fighting them.   I have seriously been thinking about the possibility of heading up a gifted center.  It doesn’t sound like a bad idea.  A school in a different area of the city would be good.  A school in a community where the people stayed for more than a year or two would be lovely.

Luckily my eyes were opened by the regional superintendent’s ridiculous memo.  I couldn’t let them fool me with their false promises.   Any position that I would take, away from Meade and the Temple Partnership, would place me at the mercy of the people I trust least of all in the school district.  They would have total control over my fate, once I was out of Meade.

The senator and the others at the meeting had demonstrated through their concern that they appreciated my efforts.  I don’t want to let them down.  I don’t want to let my school community down.  I have a deep commitment to this school.  I will continue to be loyal to my children, parents and staff.  I realize that I am not alone here. I know what I have to do. I must remain the principal of Meade.

On Friday, I finally fully committed myself to this fight.  I spent the morning on the phone.  I was asking my friends to go to bat for me.  In doing so, I was saying that I’m going to stick around here.  I will stay for at least two more years.  This should give me enough time to find the right person to take my place.

The funny thing is that as soon as I was finished working the phone, I received a call from a colleague who heads a nonprofit literacy professional development organization.  She wanted to know if I was interested in the headmaster position at a Center City Charter School.  The educational philosophy of this school is in tune with my own.  The salary offer is greater than what I am currently earning.  If this call had come a day or two earlier, in the midst of my confusion, I might not have been calling my supporters today.   The decision to stay would have been harder to make.

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In the morning mail, I received a copy of the letter that had been sent to the parent of the party of five.  Phillip’s due process hearing was scheduled for next Thursday.

This past week has been quiet.  Ms. Wilson’s threats were the only big excitement.  In the last few days only five discipline referrals have been sent to the office. These involved the main troublemakers of the school.  Compared to my prior weeks from hell, this is a pleasant and needed break.  The school is calm.

In the afternoon, I visited the eighth grade classrooms.  The playwright was working with the students.  I was interested in seeing how she was progressing with this project.  When I arrived, I observed that she was performing dramatic readings of a few of the student’s monologues.

The class was interesting, focused and fun. I noticed that Isaiah was sitting in the back of the room. I hadn’t seen him in weeks. There are a lot of students in the room whom I haven’t seen in some time. I realized that I have missed them.

When the playwright finished her readings, the students went back to working on their own pieces.  I used this opportunity in order to move around the room and talk to different kids about their work. I was pleased to see that many of them, including Isaiah, had written good piece. As I read their work and asked them questions about their plays, I gained more of an insight into their thoughts.

The plays that they are writings are good examples of an engaging and meaningful academic task.  In the students’ work, I observed abundant evidence of their growth and progress as writers.

Many politicians and school leaders are fond of saying that teaching children to read is the civil rights battle of our times. Without skipping a beat they tie this goal to increasing standardized test scores.  It is a dangerous connection.

When educators feel that their job security is dependent on pushing for higher student test scores, children will suffer. Teachers will feel compelled to focus instruction on activities that will help their students to develop test-taking skills.  Eventually in this kind of environment everything will end up being about teaching to the test.

This will not help our students to develop sophisticated comprehension skills. Good readers do much more than merely decode or answer test questions when they read.  A proficient or advanced reader makes meaningful and personal connections between their world and the ideas in the text that they are reading.   Good readers are critical thinkers.

In order for our students to sharpen their skills as critical thinkers they need a rigorous, developmentally appropriate, and enriched instructional program.  All students need many opportunities to build the background experiences and knowledge that will assist them in interpreting text.  Trips to museums and cultural venues should be a part of every child’s school experience.  Music, art, computer, and physical education classes should be offered to all children.  A variety of extra curricular activities should also be made available to them.  Access to these kinds of resources should be their civil right.

I want all of my children at Meade to have the opportunity to develop their gifts and talents.  Helping them to do so in a resource poor school is a challenge.

Being with the kids is a great depression-buster.  I felt much better after this classroom visit.  The final soothing tonic of the day was a quick and peaceful dismissal.

Spring is almost on us. It’s time to push out of my winter cave.  I am sensing that the days ahead will bring a brighter outlook to my life.