School leaders set the tone in a school community. They play a prominent role in defining a vision and driving it forward. REEP is exploring the question, “What are the conditions that make a school successful, and what does ‘success’ mean, anyway?” Recently, we met with four school leaders to gather their thoughts on the matter.
Geovanny Ponce with Hartman students
Geovanny Ponce: Assistant Principal, Hartman Middle School
Geovanny Ponce is tenacious. Born in Honduras, Ponce’s fourth grade teacher challenged him to strive for goals he’d never imagined: “She taught me not only about academics but also about life. She said, ‘you can do it better than that, and I will help you and support you as much as I can. You have to go to college.’ I knew that year that I would be someone.” Years later, Ponce received his BS in engineering from the University of Honduras, an accomplishment that defied the odds of his impoverished upbringing. Ponce, however, had not yet reached a dream drawn from his elementary inspiration: to teach in the United States. In 1998, Ponce came to the US to learn English. By working nights at a restaurant he was able to enroll in English as a Second Language courses at Houston Community College during the day, “working at school until 2, and from 2 until night, cooking 100 pounds of red beans every day for a restaurant. My goal was to learn enough English to take the test and become a teacher.”
Eventually, Ponce applied for an alternative certification program, and within the year accepted a position with Houston ISD as a bilingual teacher. He went on to earn his M.Ed in Administration and Supervision from the University of Houston, and in 2008, became Assistant Principal at Hartman Middle School. In this role, Ponce oversees instruction, special populations, and all academics. He is known as “the philosopher,” and his focus on “no excuses, finding a way, and making a partnership with parents” is well-known throughout the school. Throughout our visit, students joyfully approached him with a mixture of playfulness and respect. Ponce makes it clear that to him, people are paramount: “As leaders, we need to understand that everything is about human capital.”
AN: What are the qualities of a successful school?
GP: “A successful school starts by having effective leadership. My philosophy is that when you see a school, a school is a reflection of the leadership team, so a successful school has effective leaders. If the leaders are effective, everything flows down.
And you need effective teachers, and a community of trust where parents and the community are involved every single day in the children’s education. Where you can observe a very pleasant climate. Rigorous instruction in every single classroom—wherever you go, you will observe [this]. Finally, instruction based on data to prescribe what the child needs, what’s specific for the children.”
AN: What does ‘success’ mean to you, anyway?
GP: “I don’t relate success to taking a test; if you provide all of these other things, success will come. The most important thing is to teach the child to grow. If you show them how to make the right choice because they can critically think about how every single choice they make now will affect their future. I tell them, ‘tomorrow starts today.’ They are the owners of their own lives.”
Sunnyside High School
Shannon Wheatley: Principal and Founding School Leader, KIPP Sunnyside High School
KIPP Sunnyside High School opened in fall of 2010 as Houston’s second KIPP high school. A former AP History teacher at KIPP Houston High School, Shannon Wheatley had a bit of prior experience, but he longed to go about certain things differently. As he approaches Sunnyside’s second year, Wheatley will have both a freshman and a sophomore class, as new KIPP schools are founded one grade at a time. Wheatley says he’s “very optimistic as we move into our second year, to push our kids to see themselves as students and see themselves as scholars.”
Sunnyside is a liberal arts high school, where the teacher community is “continually pushing our kids to be creative and thoughtful thinkers. There’s a huge focus on social justice and service. Lots and lots of reading and lots and lots of writing, but we really focus on making connections between classes. The big essential questions of the world are always out there regardless of the subject that you’re in.”
The week prior to the end of the school year, the founding freshman class took finals early and embarked upon a full week of service learning projects with local nonprofit organizations, what Wheatley remembers as “a great way to relax and build relationships.” “It’s something that was hugely successful,” Wheatley shared, “we’re looking at a service learning day for next year, to have students, with their advisors and their parents, go out for a full day of service and deepen that experience.”
AN: What are the qualities of a successful school?
SW: “100% of everything is focused on students, on student learning and student support. So things are built around that and manifest themselves outward. We have a focus on proving the possible, what’s possible for our kids, and a school that loses track of that is not headed in the right direction.
A very clear mission and vision for student academic achievement, and then developing strategic decisions for ensuring all kids can and will learn, and then around that, making sure that those systems are efficient and are achievable or feasible. What we learned this first year is that there are a million good ideas, and you have to choose the one or two things that are going to be the most high yield, and then stick to it.
The second piece is the people: it’s the people, it’s the people, it totally is the people. You’re only as good as the weakest teacher in the building, and then more importantly, after that is what are you going to do to develop that teacher in real time…that teacher’s getting hands-on support and development, and coaching and feedback.”
AN: What does ‘success’ mean to you, anyway?
SW: “100% of our kids have access to a quality public education, that 100% of our kids are going to and through college. College readiness is a word we throw around a lot, but it really means that on August 10th, once our kids have graduated from Sunnyside HS, on day one our students are ready to go. They have the survival skills and strong work habits, they have the academic behaviors that make any student successful regardless of where you’re from, and they have the character to be able to persevere when times are difficult and have the courage to make good decisions while they’re there.
And plus, learning’s fun. We want our kids to be lifelong learners. We want our kids to walk by a newspaper and pick it up and wonder about what’s going on… to be well-rounded with diverse tastes and interests. I want our kids to have stewardship of their future, so they can and can’t do whatever they want.”
Michael Nasra
Michael Nasra: Assistant Principal, Atascocita High
Atascocita High School hosts 3,200 students. In an interesting model, 9th graders are assigned to a Gold House, while 10th through 12th grade students are assigned to one of six houses serving as smaller learning communities. Houses are divided into Red, White, and Blue, and within them, numbers 1 or 2. Michael Nasra is Assistant Principal over White House #1, and oversees the development of approximately 425 students. Nasra is entering his second year as Assistant Principal after serving in administrative roles at surrounding middle and high schools, and views Atascocita as a special place: “When I walk into this school and I’m immersed in it…the culture of the campus and the teachers’ focus is on something greater than their own good. It’s student and community-driven… it becomes more than an entity, it becomes a part of the community.” It is immediately apparent that Nasra is fully-committed and passionately motivated to serve this community and “enhance the student experience.”
“Education for students is my biggest role,” explained Nasra, “and the second part of my role is centered around supporting…and guiding teachers so that they’re putting their best foot forward.” Effective communication is key, and Nasra keeps an avid focus on “continually providing feedback, facilitating reflective questioning, and supporting growth.”
AN: What are the qualities of a successful school?
MN: “Trust. Creating an atmosphere of trust, where students have the freedom to think creatively and be risk-takers. There is a commitment to motivation among teachers, clear processes for decision-making…and day-to-day operations are in order. It’s a school that’s student-centered, and that has strong instructional management, where you’re guiding teachers, you’re providing feedback and developing teachers professionally, and you’re being innovative to engage your teachers.”
AN: What does ‘success’ mean to you, anyway?
MN: “In school, we are a numbers game. We’re measured by success with test scores within the district and the state, and those do define success. But, it’s measured by continuous improvement in these areas; if we’re continually improving ourselves compares to our peers, we’ve been successful. And we have to recognize that—it can’t just be soft achievement, although that’s equally as important. Anecdotally, I look to see, ‘Are students feeling valued? Are they happy?’ and I love to watch those interpersonal experiences and see it multiplying across the campus. Then, you’re feeling you’re doing something for the greater good, more than just educating students for a test. It’s about helping them become lifelong learners, and how you take all of this—the test scores and the things that are difficult to quantify—and translate it into practice.”
Terry Estes
Terry Estes: Assistant Principal, Northbrook High School
Over seven years, Estes, along with the school leadership team, has worked hard on tightening procedures and systems and on implementing consistency. As Associate Principal at Northbrook High School, Estes is in charge of master scheduling, test coordination, and supervising counselors and teachers. She’s seen great improvement in the spirit and attitude of the school over time, and is thrilled to see students taking pride in Northbrook. For Estes, this accomplishment is a “personal celebration, because I actually attended school and graduated from there. Many of the traditions had lost their flavor, and to see the kids want to take part in them again is a rewarding experience.”
Estes exudes caring and compassion, and is highly devoted to ensuring a quality, rigorous experience for all of her students.
AN: What are the qualities of a successful school?
TE: “That the school is safe. I’m focused on making the environment lead to success and maintaining an expectation for behavior—what goes on in a classroom, where there’s a feeling of respect, where you can step out and take a learning risk. It really boils down to simple things. We should focus on a mission or common goals, make a commitment to great teaching, and make sure that there’s a willingness on everyone’s part to go the extra mile to keep things moving forward. Of course, there are high expectations for every student, teachers make learning personal and individual, and there is strong leadership—the building principal, assistant principals, and team helps to keep the excitement going.”
AN: What does ‘success’ mean to you, anyway?
TE: “Success is a very individual thing; it can mean different things to different people. Success is about reaching your highest potential.”
Great post about successful principals! Thanks for sharing!
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