I had the chance to visit Maynard Jackson High school last week.  I was looking forward to the visit because my professor for my Aspiring Principal’s cohort at Georgia State University, Dr. Joanne Brown (@Levleadership), had stated how awesome the place was.   She told us how their principal had turned the place around and how it was now a school where people wanted their kids to go to prepare for their futures.  A few years prior, people in the neighborhood spent hundreds of dollars sending their children to private schools; they did not want their children at Maynard Jackson.  The place had undergone a complete turnaround.

Walking in the building, the first thing I thought was, “Wow, this place is beautiful.”  It felt good to be there, and the atmosphere was relaxed and airy.  Everyone was smiling, and the teacher who I walked in behind said, “You must be looking for the front office, sir.”  I smiled and nodded my head, and she simply replied, “Come on.”  It just felt like a good place to be on an overcast day.

When I entered the building, I was greeted by the office staff.  There was a student doing the announcements for the day, and I smiled immediately, thinking of how our kids at Carver are responsible for this task as well.  I was ready to get started.  Mrs. Johnson came out to greet me and some others who’d shown up for the school tour.  She took us to the back conference room, we had breakfast, chatted a bit, and then she did her principal’s presentation about how she changed the mindset of her teachers.  In changing the mindset of the teachers, she was able to have a trickle down effect to the students.  When she met with the students and they stated that they wanted more than 50 clubs added to the school, she and her team made it happen.  When they wanted to incorporate a more rigorous academic program, they made it happen.  It was clear; whatever would help students and improve their learning experience was set as a priority, and the team worked endlessly to bring it to life.  Everyone was accountable for the success of the students, and there would be no straying away from the expectation.

I was intrigued by the “I Am Accountable” campaign Mrs. Johnson had put in place.  Her assistant principals navigated through the school on carts because they needed to be present in classrooms to help teachers.  Mrs. Johnson stated, “I expect my team to be in classrooms during the school day.  If they have to do paperwork or anything like that, it can be done before school or after school.”  Everyone knew this expectation, even parents.  Because of this, there was enough time for the admin team to do compliance checks, attend PL meetings, and really guide teachers in the manner they needed.  As a result, there was an opportunity to differentiate PD for teachers and focus on growth areas.  Teachers knew what they were accountable for, and they worked to do their parts.  After one walkthrough, one thing was evident; Mrs. Johnson ran a tight ship.  There was nowhere for teachers to lack, nowhere for students to trail off, and everyone knew that they were truly accountable and that the expectation would not be bent.

We visited numerous classes, and the students and their teacher continued without interruption.  It was evident that they get visits frequently.  I was amazed and the learning that was taking place and the engagement that the students maintained.  The teachers were knowledgeable of the content, and they engaged their students at every moment.  The faculty was implementing the Gradual Release of Responsibility, which made me smile again because I’d just done a training on this model not even two weeks prior to the visit.  I thought to myself, “If teachers can master this concept, plan their interim assessments and reteach, or buffer, weeks, then we could do some awesome things.”  Mrs. Johnson made one thing clear to us; she stated that they weren’t perfect by a long shot and had a long way to go.  This was encouraging for all of us.  We knew that each of our schools had awesome things to offer, but the procedures that were in place set Maynard Jackson apart from the rest and yielded huge results.  I left the school feeling energized and ready to work.  I was ready to make a difference, and I too knew that I was accountable for the lives of the students at Carver Road Middle School (@CarverRoadMS).  It took a while to process everything, and I followed up with my boss (@taylortiffn0826)  a few days later about the things we could do to continue moving forward next year.  Thanks, Mrs. Johnson, for allowing us to spend the entire day with you.  You and your turnaround team inspired us, and I can personally say that the visit will have a huge effect on some of the policies and procedures we put in place for our school next year.

Dr. G.