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Monday, April 2, 2007
The Difference A Principal Makes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I must have been in sixth grade when Sister Madonna replaced the beloved nun who had been the only principal I had ever known at Sacred Heart. I remember because when she took over she immediately instituted stricter rules, including that girls couldn’t wear makeup.
Needless to say, Sister Madonna was universally despised among my friends, who were just starting to experiment with eye shadow and mascara.
I started thinking about this after reading that DeKalb County Superintendent Crawford Lewis is replacing eight of his principals next school year — including Wayne Chelf at Lakeside High School, one of the county’s top-performing campuses.
Last year, Lewis abruptly removed Chelf from his post amid concerns of racial tension on campus. Students walked out of classes in protest, and, two weeks later, Lewis reinstated him. According to the latest story, Lewis changed his mind again and is reassigning Chelf at the end of the school year. Another student protest may be brewing.
“Students are getting more and more agitated about it,” Lakeside junior Laura Foster told my colleague, Kristina Torres. “It’s really frustrating. I’ve never heard any negative complaints at all about Mr. Chelf.”
I wonder: Will students really notice Chelf’s absence when they return to classes next year or will Lakeside function the way it long has, pumping out high test scores and college-bound grads? In other words: How much difference does one principal make?
