Principal of F-grade school faces a likely demotion
Sharon Jackson has been under pressure since 2001 when Gulfport Elementary's state grade began to drop.
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published May 11, 2003
The principal of Pinellas County's only "F" school will be demoted if the School Board approves on Tuesday.
The school, Gulfport Elementary, has improved greatly this year, based on preliminary FCAT scores, and this year's grade is likely to be better when it's released next month. But district officials don't credit the principal, Sharon Jackson. Her boss says she communicated poorly, suspended too many children and led the school on a downward slide.
Jackson sat in her office Friday afternoon fighting back tears, recalling the day Area 4 superintendent Oscar Robinson told her he was sending her to Maximo Elementary School - as assistant principal.
He had spoken to her about her performance before the March 19 meeting, Jackson said. He told her he was thinking about transferring her. But that was the first time he had taken what she calls disciplinary action.
"I felt blindsided," she said quietly.
Jackson, 51, has been principal at Gulfport since 1996. She has been under pressure since 2001 when the school's state grade dropped from a C to a D. Things got even more tense when the grade fell to an F last year.
She admits there are problems at the school, but believes they are similar to problems other principals face. Because her school is "the F school," the spotlight is harsh and unblinking, she said.
But Robinson disagrees. Among criticisms cited in a March 21 memo, he listed the following:
Thirty-two student suspensions between August and December 2002, the highest of the area's 25 schools, raising concerns about Gulfport's disciplinary plan.
Worsening communication between Jackson and her staff, and the concern expressed by some that Jackson would "retaliate against them if they take action on issues."
Excessive amounts of time spent away from the school on recruitment trips for the district.
Complaints from parents that Jackson was unresponsive to them.
"There were some things we had concerns about last year that we thought we had addressed," said Robinson, the supervisor. "Some of them didn't get better. We just felt at this time it would be better to change the leadership."
Jackson's transfer seems likely to be approved by the School Board. Superintendent Howard Hinesley approved the recommendation last month.
Jackson will not take a pay cut and will retain her salary of $77,410.
Jackson's transfer comes at a critical time for Gulfport. Recently released scores from this year's FCAT show substantial increases in student performance in reading, math and writing. But more than one-third of the school's third-graders still were unable to meet the basic skills of their grade level and could be held back.
After a year of being housed at Sanderlin Elementary, the Gulfport students and staff members are preparing to move into a new $10.7-million school that was built on the site Gulfport Elementary had occupied for 90 years at 2014 52nd St. S.
Meanwhile, its transformation into the district's only public Montessori school is continuing. Heeding the district's call to create an attractor that would lure children when the controlled choice plan takes effect in August, administrators decided to pursue the rigorous training necessary to become certified in the program that puts students in charge of their work and pace.
In the past two years, a dozen teachers have left, citing an unwillingness to buy into the program, Jackson said, adding that her commitment never wavered. Montessori curriculum coordinator Sara Madle backed up her claim.
"She's extremely hard-working and has been very dedicated to the Montessori program," Madle said. "I've had wonderful opportunities to learn administrative skills and to be involved with getting the new school ready."
But not all staff members share Madle's view. Jade Moore, director of the Pinellas teachers union, says he has fielded complaints from many of them.
"It was unusual in that we had people who would actually say, "If I don't get a transfer, I'm quitting,' " he said. "With the problems the school had with its grade and trying to get the Montessori program up and running, there was a pretty important need for good old-fashioned communication and cooperation, and that's what wasn't happening."
The school has many challenges. Seventy-four percent of its enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, often an indicator of poverty, compared with a district average of 45 percent. Half of the students move to other schools between August and May. More than one-quarter were absent 21 days or more in the 2001-02 school year, compared with a 5 percent absenteeism rate districtwide.
But Robinson, the supervisor, believes Jackson's inability to communicate and provide leadership added to the school's problems.
"It's a difficult school; that I would not deny," he said. "But I don't think (the problems) were just because it's a difficult school.
Lisa Grant, 39, who has been assistant principal at Maximo Elementary for a year, was chosen as Jackson's replacement. Her pay will be raised to $71,312.
Robinson said her experience as an elementary school principal in Washington state and the experience she has gained in implementing a minisociety with its own bank and post office at Maximo make her a good choice. She will undergo Montessori training this summer in New York.
Robinson and Moore expressed regard for Jackson as an individual, but said her transfer comes down to doing what is best for the school.
"There were just too many good things going on at that school for it not to be a lot happier than it was," Moore said.
