Public Education Foundation - Partners for Strong Schools

School system launches academy to groom principals

3/5/2010  | Chattanooga Times Free Press

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By Kelli Gauthier kgauthier@timesfreepress.com

When Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Jim Scales became a principal in 1977, nobody gave him much training, he said.

“They threw me a set of keys and said, ‘sic ’em.’ That’s about it,” he said.

But schools have changed and now require more of their principals, Dr. Scales said. So on Thursday, the superintendent said he was excited to announce the creation of a Principal Leadership Academy that will give practical advice and training to assistant principals hoping one day to take over leadership of a school. “The leadership of our schools is of the utmost importance,” Dr. Scales said during an announcement event at Unum. “We can have a great curriculum in our schools, we can have great teachers in our schools — and we do. But to put it all together, we have to have dynamic leaders.”

The Principal Leadership Academy will build on the training workshops the district has been holding since December. It is a joint project of Unum, which provided $100,000 to jump-start the academy, as well as the Public Education Foundation, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Hamilton County Schools.

The academy will involve 12 to 16 assistant principals who have expressed interest in becoming principals. It will include a two-week intensive training course this summer, as well as monthly training seminars on topics such as finances, building management and community relations. Business leaders also will serve as mentors for would-be principals.

East Side Elementary assistant principal Demetrius Wiley has been attending the district’s training workshops and said she may file an application for the academy.

“I know there’s a lot to be learned for me to get a handle on the procedures and policies that apply to Hamilton County Schools,” she said. “The more equipment I have, the more I can help Hamilton County teachers.”

East Lake Elementary principal Neelie Parker said the academy’s training was a crucial piece of continuing education.

“I liken it to a doctor. You would not want to go to a doctor who had not been back to school since they graduated,” she said. “We are practicing the art and science of education.”

Ms. Parker said the training will focus on specific scenarios that a principal encounters daily but that an assistant principal may never be exposed to, such as creating a budget or filling out teacher evaluations and recommendation letters.

Part of the money for the academy will go toward hiring a director, Dr. Scales said.

Follow Kelli Gauthier on Twitter at twitter.com/gauthierkelli