Post by title1parent on Dec 9, 2009 17:51:55 GMT -5
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=342706&src=76
Suburban principals go 'Back to School'
By Jameel Naqvi | Daily Herald 12/9/09
If an older-looking student in your high school biology class leans over and makes a lame joke about chlorophyll, think twice before rolling your eyes and turning away.
It might just be your principal.
A handful of schools in the suburbs and across the state are among the first in the nation to implement a new program that aims to get principals out of their offices and into classrooms.
"The job historically has been a manager of a building," said Mark Shellinger, the former school superintendent who started the program. "Is that what you should be having the highest-paid person in your building doing?"
Instead, school administration management, or the SAM program, encourages principals to delegate administrative tasks and take an active role in evaluating and refining classroom teaching.
The SAM program started about seven years ago in three schools in Louisville, Ky. Today, the program is used by 315 schools in 10 states, Shellinger said.
In Illinois, an early supporter of SAM, about 53 schools and eight districts have implemented the model, including Chicago Public Schools, Community Unit District 300, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 and Springfield Public Schools.
At Algonquin's Jacobs High School, Principal Michael Bregy attends a full day of classes every Monday, dressing in street clothes, taking notes, participating in activities with his students and even doing homework.
After visiting a classroom, Bregy meets with teachers the following day and offers feedback on their lessons, often comparing them to other teachers he observes in the same subject area.
"It's a way for me to get to know more students in the classroom," Bregy said. "Because this has changed my practice as principal, I believe other people can do it too."
Shellinger said Jacobs is one of only a handful of schools nationwide that uses high school students - instead of an adult administrator - to oversee the program. Because of that rare model, Jacobs has been asked to give a presentation about its SAM program at a national conference next month in Orlando.
"That is unusual," Illinois SAM coordinator Bert Hendee said about Jacobs' model. "It's something people are really interested in and looking at. It worked out quite well."
In Naperville-area District 204, four schools have adopted the SAM model, including Georgetown Elementary, where Principal Kim Stephens visits classrooms on a daily basis.
Stephens credits the program, now in its second year, with reducing discipline problems and helping student achievement.
"A huge part of the success is the students get to see me focusing on instruction more," Stephens said. "They don't see me as just he person you see when you're in trouble."
Suburban principals go 'Back to School'
By Jameel Naqvi | Daily Herald 12/9/09
If an older-looking student in your high school biology class leans over and makes a lame joke about chlorophyll, think twice before rolling your eyes and turning away.
It might just be your principal.
A handful of schools in the suburbs and across the state are among the first in the nation to implement a new program that aims to get principals out of their offices and into classrooms.
"The job historically has been a manager of a building," said Mark Shellinger, the former school superintendent who started the program. "Is that what you should be having the highest-paid person in your building doing?"
Instead, school administration management, or the SAM program, encourages principals to delegate administrative tasks and take an active role in evaluating and refining classroom teaching.
The SAM program started about seven years ago in three schools in Louisville, Ky. Today, the program is used by 315 schools in 10 states, Shellinger said.
In Illinois, an early supporter of SAM, about 53 schools and eight districts have implemented the model, including Chicago Public Schools, Community Unit District 300, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 and Springfield Public Schools.
At Algonquin's Jacobs High School, Principal Michael Bregy attends a full day of classes every Monday, dressing in street clothes, taking notes, participating in activities with his students and even doing homework.
After visiting a classroom, Bregy meets with teachers the following day and offers feedback on their lessons, often comparing them to other teachers he observes in the same subject area.
"It's a way for me to get to know more students in the classroom," Bregy said. "Because this has changed my practice as principal, I believe other people can do it too."
Shellinger said Jacobs is one of only a handful of schools nationwide that uses high school students - instead of an adult administrator - to oversee the program. Because of that rare model, Jacobs has been asked to give a presentation about its SAM program at a national conference next month in Orlando.
"That is unusual," Illinois SAM coordinator Bert Hendee said about Jacobs' model. "It's something people are really interested in and looking at. It worked out quite well."
In Naperville-area District 204, four schools have adopted the SAM model, including Georgetown Elementary, where Principal Kim Stephens visits classrooms on a daily basis.
Stephens credits the program, now in its second year, with reducing discipline problems and helping student achievement.
"A huge part of the success is the students get to see me focusing on instruction more," Stephens said. "They don't see me as just he person you see when you're in trouble."