Shepherd principal leaving after this year

[Anonymous]

Particularly since anti semitism is on the rise-these kinds of comments need to be called out. As a neighbor, I find the poster's comments completely false. We have felt only friendliness among neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the answer to a principal who isn't performing firing them and bringing in yet another one?

Why can't DCPS provide clear feedback, set performance metrics and coaching if needed and, if they don't improve, then let them go.

The churn every year across the city is so bad. There has to be a better way.

I agree. I only met her at an open house but she didn't seem like someone who couldn't be coached.

[Anonymous]

She didn't see very welcoming to me. We tried to engage she was just "blah" and unconcerned. So we turned down a spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the answer to a principal who isn't performing firing them and bringing in yet another one?

Why can't DCPS provide clear feedback, set performance metrics and coaching if needed and, if they don't improve, then let them go.

The churn every year across the city is so bad. There has to be a better way.

I agree. I only met her at an open house but she didn't seem like someone who couldn't be coached.

+1,000,000. DCPS leadership fail across the board. Too much churn, no one engaging to understand issues of affected communities. Can’t decipher signal vs. noise.

See what’s going on at J.O. Wilson.

Need accountability.

[Anonymous]

If DCPS directed half the energy it spent on IMPACT towards coaching and supporting principals (INCLUDING giving them multi-year contracts), it would have a dramatic impact on improving individual schools and the system. It's a huge missed opportunity.

[Anonymous]

The circumstances around the prior principal's departure were also unclear, and a surprise to many families. I recall there was a small group of folks who were intent on getting her removed, but I don't think this sentiment was shared by most families. I agree it's an unclear process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The circumstances around the prior principal's departure were also unclear, and a surprise to many families. I recall there was a small group of folks who were intent on getting her removed, but I don't think this sentiment was shared by most families. I agree it's an unclear process.

That was a big loss too. SES has had too many principals in recent years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The circumstances around the prior principal's departure were also unclear, and a surprise to many families. I recall there was a small group of folks who were intent on getting her removed, but I don't think this sentiment was shared by most families. I agree it's an unclear process.

That was a big loss too. SES has had too many principals in recent years.

And 10 years ago during the Rhee era, Shepherd lost a lot of IB enrollment due to extreme principal turnover. At one point, there were four principals in one year. The IB population has been slowly increasing again, but the principal turnover is a further setback. Nonetheless, I'm hopeful a competent leader is hired so that the Shepherd community can continue to move forward.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/15/AR2008101503190.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The circumstances around the prior principal's departure were also unclear, and a surprise to many families. I recall there was a small group of folks who were intent on getting her removed, but I don't think this sentiment was shared by most families. I agree it's an unclear process.

Honestly, this feels like a repeat of the prior situation with Principal Miles. In the DCPS Central Office, squeaky wheels get the oil. A small group of families can get their way if they complain LOUDLY enough.

I was disappointed to read that Principal Brawley is leaving. No, she is not great at communication, though she did write a few lines in her weekly email. But our DC really thrived during her tenure and we're not looking forward to the disruption of training up yet another new principal.

Her shortcomings could have been resolved with effective coaching. The thing with the music teacher was a hand grenade that a lot of people might have fumbled and the mice issue was so overblown that it is a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The circumstances around the prior principal's departure were also unclear, and a surprise to many families. I recall there was a small group of folks who were intent on getting her removed, but I don't think this sentiment was shared by most families. I agree it's an unclear process.

Honestly, this feels like a repeat of the prior situation with Principal Miles. In the DCPS Central Office, squeaky wheels get the oil. A small group of families can get their way if they complain LOUDLY enough.

I was disappointed to read that Principal Brawley is leaving. No, she is not great at communication, though she did write a few lines in her weekly email. But our DC really thrived during her tenure and we're not looking forward to the disruption of training up yet another new principal.

Her shortcomings could have been resolved with effective coaching. The thing with the music teacher was a hand grenade that a lot of people might have fumbled and the mice issue was so overblown that it is a joke.

You clearly don’t have a child in PreK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The circumstances around the prior principal's departure were also unclear, and a surprise to many families. I recall there was a small group of folks who were intent on getting her removed, but I don't think this sentiment was shared by most families. I agree it's an unclear process.

Honestly, this feels like a repeat of the prior situation with Principal Miles. In the DCPS Central Office, squeaky wheels get the oil. A small group of families can get their way if they complain LOUDLY enough.

I was disappointed to read that Principal Brawley is leaving. No, she is not great at communication, though she did write a few lines in her weekly email. But our DC really thrived during her tenure and we're not looking forward to the disruption of training up yet another new principal.

Her shortcomings could have been resolved with effective coaching. The thing with the music teacher was a hand grenade that a lot of people might have fumbled and the mice issue was so overblown that it is a joke.

You clearly don’t have a child in PreK.

That's right. We have much more experience at SES and at other schools than the average PreK parent.

Congratulations, the current Principal is leaving. But you won't know if what you have to pick from in the selection panel is better than what you have until four years from now.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that 4 years is a super fast turnover. I'd say that's pretty normal. People get sick of jobs and bosses and coworkers all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think that 4 years is a super fast turnover. I'd say that's pretty normal. People get sick of jobs and bosses and coworkers all the time.

In most jobs, yes. But as a principal of a school, I think that's pretty quick. Schools like this are almost always going to get first-time principals. It takes them two years, minimum, to learn the job: how to deal with individual teachers and staff, the union, parents with wildly differing expectations, curriculum changes, testing, hundreds of kids, the neighbors. Throw in multiple school renovations just for fun.

By the time they get their feet set, someone is calling for a change in leadership.

C'est la vie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think that 4 years is a super fast turnover. I'd say that's pretty normal. People get sick of jobs and bosses and coworkers all the time.

In most jobs, yes. But as a principal of a school, I think that's pretty quick. Schools like this are almost always going to get first-time principals. It takes them two years, minimum, to learn the job: how to deal with individual teachers and staff, the union, parents with wildly differing expectations, curriculum changes, testing, hundreds of kids, the neighbors. Throw in multiple school renovations just for fun.

By the time they get their feet set, someone is calling for a change in leadership.

C'est la vie.

This is the problem. There's a lot of work to do at SES and it's not a job for a first timer. We need someone with the experience to hit the ground running.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think that 4 years is a super fast turnover. I'd say that's pretty normal. People get sick of jobs and bosses and coworkers all the time.

In most jobs, yes. But as a principal of a school, I think that's pretty quick. Schools like this are almost always going to get first-time principals. It takes them two years, minimum, to learn the job: how to deal with individual teachers and staff, the union, parents with wildly differing expectations, curriculum changes, testing, hundreds of kids, the neighbors. Throw in multiple school renovations just for fun.

By the time they get their feet set, someone is calling for a change in leadership.

C'est la vie.

This is the problem. There's a lot of work to do at SES and it's not a job for a first timer. We need someone with the experience to hit the ground running.

4 years is a very long tenure for a DCPS principal.