Reply to That Takoma Principal Part 2

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "That Takoma Principal Part 2"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Clayton is a nice guy. Don’t believe these stories. [/quote]

Are you saying it didn't happen? Did he say that or did he not?[/quote]

DP.  He absolutely did say it.  And also, in some ways, he really is a nice guy.  I truly believe he cares deeply about each and every kid at Takoma - he has a heart for them and it's a warm environment in that regard.  But he's not a good manager or administrator, he has a tendency to be extremely defensive and prickly and he gives out favors to friends vs nurturing talent wherever it is found.  He treats teachers like his pawns instead of colleagues.  And he is -- I cannot stress this enough -- an abysmal communicator.  He rambles, he digresses, he backtracks, he alludes, he repeats, and in the end: he has conveyed no information.

He's a human person, not a monster or a saint.  But I don't think his personality is right for a principal position and I don't think he's doing a good job.[/quote]

This is a pretty good summation of Clayton. I would just add, he also lies incessantly. Whatever he tells you to your face will be the complete opposite he shares with someone else. Whatever is the easiest answer for him to let you leave thinking he is a "nice guy", so I can see why people are easily fooled by that[/quote]

Not at Takoma, but this is interesting because we are at a school people love but I have similar feelings about our principal. He plays favorites (teachers and families) and deflects problems.  Some communication is good, some not.  He does many good things and people think there is no bad. He is a human person, not a monster or a saint.   But if you view any principal as one or the other, there can be issues down the road in ignoring real problems or creating fake problems.  [/quote]

This is a classic “fine-time” leadership problem. A principal who genuinely cares about students but struggles to take negative feedback and address problems constructively. Their good intentions to protect friends and reward loyalty end up creating divisions, lowering morale, and pushing talented teachers outside the inner circle to quietly leave. Over time, the school is left with mostly loyal yes people rather than high performing staff, which hurts the quality of education and ultimately affects students.
[/quote]

This is literally the personality DCPS selects for when hiring principals - they want yes-people who will do whatever central office says and not bring them problems. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics