Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Back to School 2005

Eight new principals spell out their vision

The new Hillsborough school leaders hold forth on their ideas for retaining teachers and encouraging kids to get into books.

By ELISABETH DYER
Published July 22, 2005

Eight new leaders will welcome students to Tampa area schools when the 2005-06 school year begins Aug. 4. City Times schools reporter Elisabeth Dyer talked with each about issues ranging from how to get kids to read to how to hire and keep good teachers.

Students and parents can meet the new principals at area open houses, a few days before school begins.

Scott Weaver

Age: 33

Home: Northdale

Family: Married; three children, ages 3, 6 and 10.

Schooling: Bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida; master's from Saint Leo University.

Began career with Hillsborough County: In 1997 teaching fourth- and fifth-graders at Tampa Bay Boulevard Elementary. Came to Mabry in February, his first principal position.

Q: How can I get my 8-year-old to read for fun?

A: "Don't force-read. Make reading an active part of your home environment. There should be times when everybody sits down and spends 30 minutes reading." (That means turn off the television.)

Q: What is your strategy for hiring and keeping good teachers?

A: "I include teachers on some of my interviews so that I can get their feedback that whomever I hire is going to fit in with our team. I have an open-door policy. I visit classes a lot and meet with my teachers very often."

Q: What are your goals for Mabry for the year?

A: "We're in the beginning phases of adding 12 new classrooms with a new media center and computer lab, so this year is a transition year. Academically my goals are to continue to improve in all areas. Even though we're a five-star school and an A school, there's always room for improvement. I'm meeting with teachers, reviewing last year's test scores to find out how we can improve."

Krystal Carson

Age: 35

Home: Brandon

Family: Married; son, age 4

Schooling: Bachelor's degree from Florida A&M University; master's from Nova Southeastern University; working on doctorate. Began career with Hillsborough County: In 1993, teaching first grade at Lowry Elementary School.

Q: How can I get my 8-year-old to read for fun?

A: "I would start by getting books that your child is interested in. If they're interested in planes or aerodynamics, get these kinds of books. Whatever their interests, look for books or magazines."

Q: What is your strategy for hiring and keeping good teachers?

A: "One of the key things I look for is how well they communicate with the staff and administrators. I look for teachers who will go the extra mile."

Q: What are your goals for Dunbar this year?

A: "To continue to attract a variety of kids from all over. I'm pulling in a diverse group. I'm really excited because we're going to include an aerospace theme this year."

Tricia McManus

Age: 36

Home: Forest Hills

Family: Married; two daughters, ages 6 and 8.

Schooling: Bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of South Florida. Almost finished doctorate at Nova Southeastern University.

Began career with Hillsborough County: In 1990, teaching at Forest Hills Elementary.

Q: How can I get my 8-year-old to read for fun?

A: "First and foremost, expose them to lots of books. Take them to the public library. Go to bookstores. You don't even have to buy. You're just in that environment where you go to the children's section and there's books everywhere and you can sit and read. Just show your kids the wealth of books. You should try to get a variety of books, ones they can read and books that they just want to pick off the shelf because it looks exciting to them. Encourage both. Maybe the ones they can't read, you can read to them, and ones they can, they can read to you."

Q: What is your strategy for hiring and keeping good teachers?

A: "For hiring, letting them know exactly what the expectations are going to be. Keeping, to me, is very easy. If you provide teachers with the structure and the support they need to do a good job in the classroom . . . if you're building them up as professionals and creating a professional learning community, you're going to have teachers who are happy and want to be there. It's really the way you treat them on a day-to-day basis."

Q: What are your goals for Just this year?

A: "To raise student achievement to the highest level. To create a climate where parents know they are welcome. The main thing is honesty. To increase student performance for every student so that they all show a year's growth."

Kim Pietsch

Age: 40

Home: New Tampa

Family: Married; son 18, daughter 14

Schooling: Bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of South Florida.

Began career with Hillsborough County: In 1988, teaching first grade at Lewis Elementary School.

Q: How can I get my 8-year-old to read for fun?

A: "Read to your 8-year-old instead of having your 8-year-old read. Your oral comprehension is much greater than what you can read yourself when you're young so children really enjoy being read to. A common misconception with parents is that once children can read by themselves, they need to read on their own. In fact, research shows the best thing you can do for your child is read to them, all through elementary school. So you read to him every night for a half hour. It will be the best thing you can do for your child. Let them listen to the words, the fluency and the vocabulary."

Q: What is your strategy for hiring and keeping good teachers?

A: "It's great if teachers have extensive training and a background, but I look for a willingness to learn and be part of a learning community at the school and a willingness to go the extra mile. You cannot do a great job and be done at 3:05; this is a job that requires a lot more and must come from the heart. In terms of keeping a good staff, I firmly believe my teachers are my bread and butter. I will do whatever I can for them. I try to empower them. I try to let them be involved in the decisionmaking and help create the kind of school as a team. To give them a say-so in what goes on so they feel important and part of the school because they are."

Q: What are your goals for Lockhart this year.

A: "Be an A school. Academic achievement is my goal for this school. The other goal that I have is to get the word out on what an amazingly beautiful facility this is and what it has to offer children. When I walked through the building, I actually got goose bumps. I'm a parent of children who attend public schools and I'm an administrator and I didn't know . . . (there's) a dance room with hardwood floors and mirrors, there's harps, violins, cellos. There's an art gallery and a keyboard lab that you see in middle schools, there are steel drums."

Tracye Brown

Age: 39

Home: Virginia Park

Family: Married; two daughters, ages 10 and 3.

Schooling: Bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida; master's from the University of South Florida.

Began career with Hillsborough County: In 1988, teaching second- and third-graders at Carrollwood Elementary School.

Q: How can I get my 8-year-old to read for fun?

A: "Make reading a game. Whenever you're in the car, read road signs and bumper stickers. I think when students see parents reading for pleasure, they imitate that. I know that's what happens with my own kids. Also, take them to the public library and expose them to different types of books. Let them know reading can be fun. It's not just for gaining specific information."

Q: What is your strategy for hiring and keeping good teachers?

A: "Certainly I look for teachers who have a passion for working with children. And teachers who have a servant's heart, that want to serve. The way that I retain my teachers is for them to see that I am a servant. I'm here not for them to do things for me but to make their jobs as easy as possible. So I do whatever I can to meet the needs of my staff."

Q: What are your goals for Potter this year?

A: "My number one priority is to have an academic focus. The way to do that is to create a very safe, orderly, caring environment, and that allows us to have that academic focus. We are going to be an academy, and the emphasis will be on meeting and exceeding the Sunshine State Standards and grade level expectations."

Shana Menia

Age: 35

Home: Plant City

Family: Married; four children, ages 2 through 12.

Schooling: Bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of South Florida; started doctorate at Nova Southeastern University.

Began career with Hillsborough County: In 1993, teaching kindergarten at McDonald Elementary.

Q: How can I get my 8-year-old to read for fun?

A: "Let them choose the kind of reading they want to do. If you have an 8-year-old boy who's into sports: Sports Illustrated for Kids. If you have an 8-year-old who is into science fiction, get them a comic book. If you've got a little girl who is 8, she probably likes horses. The number one thing to make kids love reading is to read to them. If they see that you love to read, that's going to be contagious."

Q: What is your strategy for hiring and keeping good teachers?

A: "Creating an environment where the teachers want to come to work every day. Giving them a lot of time to collaborate and work together as teams to plan and problem solve. I'm a real strong believer that it's not just the knowledge, but it's the heart too. Nobody cares what you know unless they know that you care about them. If people really know that you care about them and that you're going to support them in reaching their goals, then they're going to follow you."

Q: What are your goals for Shore this year?

A: "Continue to be an A school and continue to make adequate yearly progress. To close the achievement gap and make sure every child is treated like an individual so that however they come, with whatever skills, we move them forward."

John Copeland

Age: Declined

Home: Lakeland

Family: Married; two adult daughters

Schooling: Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Davis; master's degree from the University of La Verne in California.

Began career with Hillsborough County: In 1998, teaching world history, economics and philosophy at Sickles High School. Most recently, he was principal at Memorial Middle School.

Q: How can I get my 12-year-old to read for fun?

A: "I would go buy some Golden Books - this may sound archaic - and I would reintroduce my 12-year-old to those funny little stories they have. I would think of reasons for that 12-year-old to read to a neighbor down the street so the kid could practice reading aloud. The one that I like the best is The Velveteen Rabbit. It's such a beautiful story."

Q: What is your strategy for hiring and keeping good teachers?

A: "Honesty. You inspect what you expect. That means that you have to be inside the classrooms, not as a hindrance but to help. The core of my beliefs is that I love kids."

Q: What goals do you have for Franklin this year.

John Haley

Age: 39

Home: Brandon

Family: Married; five sons, ages 3 to 12.

Schooling: Bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of South Florida.

Began career with Hillsborough County: In 1989, teaching social studies at Tampa Bay Technical High School.

Q: How can I get my 12-year-old to read for fun?

A: "By getting them to read things they have personal interest in. It doesn't matter what it is. It can be comic books. It can be sports magazines. Start them there. I also think it's important to have family reading time. Let everybody have a designated time when they're going to sit down and read for enjoyment."

Q: What is your strategy for hiring and keeping good teachers?

A: "I'm working on strategies right now for hiring because I'm eight teachers short. I have been poring over the list of candidates that are eligible for teaching on the districts Web site to try to get teachers who are well-qualified. As far as keeping them, making sure we have a support system in place to make sure we address their needs, to make sure we develop them, provide them a network within the school in which they can have a safe place to ask questions and grow."

Q: What are your goals for Memorial this year.

A: "As far as our students go we're going to provide them with a top-notch education, second to none. We're going to improve our students' performance on the standardized testing such as the FCAT and the Sunshine State Standards. We're also going to emphasize to our students the value of hard work so that they'll be better prepared for the rigorous high school curriculum they'll be facing. So we're going to emphasize that. Anything worth having is worth working for, and I think a quality education is worth having."

[Last modified August 2, 2005, 15:01:06]