Interview with and Effective School Leader Scarlet Sink Principalship- Fall 2013 Melita Wise started captaining

the mother ship that is Hanes Magnet School. Last spring, the school was named #1 Magnet Middle School in the U.S. The schools focus strives to create students who seek skills and careers in STEM fields. The school serves the Winston-Salem Forsyth County school districts Highly Academically Gifted, Academically Gifted, magnet students who apply to attend the school for the STEM focus and neighborhood students who come from diverse, yet often economically disadvantaged homes. During the 4 years that Mrs. Wise has been principal, the school has grown immensely in student population, academic progress, and increased STEM programs. Mrs. Wise graciously agreed to answer some questions for me during my internship at Hanes Magnet School. Question Bank: How/when did you decide to become a principal? Were you ever a classroom teacher? What is the biggest challenge for you as you carry out your daily duties as principal? What responsibilities would you delegate? What is the most rewarding part of your job? Would you rather work with new college graduates or seasoned teachers as new hires? What advice would you give someone who was going to become a principal? After 8 years as a freshman English teacher, Mrs. Wise entered the Piedmont Triad Leadership Academy to become a principal. She joked that her inspiration stemmed from an encounter, at her former high school, where she was asked to be a

lookout, complete with two-way radio, during a possible lunchtime ruckus at the school. Although the food fight never occurred, she enjoyed the power of possibly thwarting the conspiracies of mischievous teens. Not surprisingly, Mrs. Wise focuses a great deal of energy on leading her staff and providing quality education for her students. She described her biggest challenge to be keeping equality in mind. Her teachers and students come from diverse backgrounds, economic challenges, and cultures. She spends a great deal of time considering how to provide an equal education to all of her students. She identifies huge gaps in achievement due to life experiences. Because her school is a Magnet school, she must also manage attributes of the school that are unique to Hanes. Many middle school administrators dont have the additional demands of extra programs. The STEM, HAG, AG and other internal programs must all be organized with missions that align with the schools goals. Paying attention to the priorities, mission and vision of the school keep her focused. Luckily, her curriculum coordinator works diligently to assist with the design and implementation of these programs across the disciplines and grade levels. Mrs. Wise proves that her practices define her as a moderate minded principal when she declared that she would not delegate any of her responsibilities, but instead, would lift some responsibilities from her other administrators (Devos and Bouckenooghe). She commented, transportation is a bear and removing this responsibility would provide the freedom to take on more tasks focused on student performance. Another area that takes up valuable time is discipline. She wished for a way to know what students needed before conflict or other issues arose.

She also doesnt enjoy the tough conversations she must sometimes have with parents, students or staff members. Staying grounded and not taking the work personally can be difficult at times. Mrs. Wise spends extra time talking to the students in the halls, at lunch and visiting classrooms regularly. These activities keep her passion for teaching fresh in her mind and help to make the difficult parts of managing the school easier. Beyond her interactions with the students, Mrs. Wise enjoys nurturing teachers. She expressed her joy at helping teachers make their ideas real in the classroom. She encourages new strategies and assists in teachers evaluating their own growth as instructors and learners. She loves to watch teachers identify next steps in their professional goals, even though it sometimes means they leave the classroom to accomplish more. When asked about hiring, she celebrated that this year they only hired 18 new teachers. The previous year they had to find 36 teachers. Hanes teacher turnover remains high, because the demands on the teachers differ significantly from many middle schools. She defined her teachers as inherited, those who were at the school when she arrived and hired, those she interviewed and brought to the learning community. Turnover can be a good thing for schools because it allows the principal to exercise care and deliberation in choosing new faculty members who will benefit the overall vision of the school. The staff adjusts to the personality of the leader and there are many different kinds of leaders. She noted that good principals recognize and understand the personalities of their staff. Her advice to new principals describes the need to be flexible in changing perspective. She identified that two years passed before she felt comfortable meeting the

needs of her staff and students. Throughout that time Mrs. Wise identified how her ideas changed multiple times. Knowing what is the most important helps to frame discussions and make decisions for your school. Keeping the learning process central to your philosophy helps with the process. Lastly, Mrs. Wise said being a principal is far more difficult that she ever thought it would be, but it is also very rewarding.

Resources Devos, G. and Bouckenooghe, D. (2009). An exploratory study on principals conceptions about their role as school leaders, Leadership and Policy in Schools, 8(2), 173-196.