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MONIQUE FIELDSLargo High's new principal and former football coach takes the field with a goal: raising the school's D grade.
LARGO - Becoming principal of Largo High School was a homecoming of sorts for Jeffrey Haynes.
Back in the 1980s, he coached football at Largo. All three of his daughters graduated from the school.
So, when he returned this year he was already familiar with the maze of buildings on campus.
"The biggest difference," he said, "is learning a new group of kids."
Haynes, 57, transferred from Dixie Hollins High School and replaced principal Barbara Thornton, who had led the school for 14 years. Thornton was admired by teachers and students, and she had worked closely with all parts of the community, not just parents.
As part of the Largo Rotary Club, for example, she helped Rotary start a children's leadership program.
Haynes isn't bothered by Thornton's reputation. He respects it. Like Thornton, he plans to focus on keeping strong ties in the community.
He plans to join the Rotary Club after the first of the year and has already attended a Largo City Commission meeting. He will also be sure to keep the Chamber of Commerce apprised of what's happening at the school.
"Community involvement doesn't necessarily have to be in dollars and cents," he said.
His biggest challenge will be one most educators face. He must thrive in an educational environment filled with responsibilities, from making sure his students do well on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to understanding federal No Child Left Behind legislation.
Largo High has been charged with bringing up the disappointing D grade it received earlier this year, after the school's lowest performing students didn't make enough progress in reading for the school to get a C.
Teachers across the school are now learning how to identify low performing students in all of their classes and developing strategies to help those students succeed.
The county's choice program and the school's decision to implement small learning communities are just two more items piled on an already crowded plate of duties.
"I think (teachers) will draw, rightly or wrongly, their conclusion of him as a principal based upon those efforts," said Michael Klapka, who teaches history at Largo.
Haynes began his career teaching consumer economics and math at Gibbs High School during the 1975-76 school year. Four years later, he returned to Gibbs as a physical education teacher. He taught physical education and was the head football coach at Largo from 1981-1987, when he became an assistant principal at Dunedin High School. He held that title at four high schools before being named principal of Dixie Hollins.
The walls in Haynes' new office are still bare. Most of his books and manuals sit on the floor in cardboard boxes. Despite the appearance of his office, he has definitely dug deep into his new job.
He described his management style as one in which he likes to see progress.
"I think I'm forthright and I really try to be fair and consistent. That's what I work on the most," he said.
Haynes said he respects the teaching staff. His job may be different from theirs, but the goals are the same: providing the best education possible for Largo students.
Karol Gotte, a business teacher at Largo, has had some experience in this area. She and Haynes worked together at Northeast High School when she was a teacher and Haynes was assistant principal.
"If I had a problem and I had a possible solution, he was supportive in helping me solve the problem," she said.
She has seen Haynes apply that same attitude in his short time at Largo. She is on a steering committee created to work on dividing Largo into smaller learning communities.
Last year, Gotte and other teachers attended a conference about small learning communities, where they culled ideas for what could work in their schools. She has informally presented some of the ideas to Haynes, who she said was receptive.
"What I like is, he is open to new ideas," she said.
Teachers and students use one word more than any other to describe their new principal: quiet.
That's a drastic change from Thornton. Several students said this week they hardly notice Haynes when they change classes or eat lunch.
"That's not cool," said Ashley Gonzalez, a senior. "He's supposed to lead the school. He doesn't say anything."
Jason Falcon, also a senior, disagrees.
Students haven't gotten a chance to know Haynes, he said. He views the principal's silence as a sign of strength.
"He's quiet, but you can tell he cares about us," he said.
Haynes may be quiet, but he brings a special set of skills to the school.
He is an aspiring barbecue chef, having worked on his technique for more than 25 years, developing his own set of spices to ensure well-cooked, tender and moist meat.
What that means, to the seniors at least, is that their principal will don a hat and serve up his best barbecue in celebration of their graduation this spring.
"It's nice to say thanks for a good job," Haynes said. "They'll read this and I'll be in trouble."