A Principal's Perspective on Starting Back to School

Even though the halls may be absent of students throughout district campuses during the summer months, work doesn't stop for school district administrators. Many times as school district administrators we often get the question "what do you do during the summer break? You can't be that busy when the students are out of school." In reality, the summer is a really busy time for school districts. Whether a campus is undergoing major renovations during the summer, or just managing the tasks associated with wrapping up one school year and preparing for the next it's a busy time while the students and teachers are enjoying their well deserved summer break.

With that thought in mind, we asked Ed Willkie Middle School Principal, Melanie Caldwell, to share a principal's perspective on starting back to school as we all gear up for the 2010-2011 school year to begin later this month. Here's what she had to say...

"With the start of back to school, there are many tasks to be taken care of by a variety of people on our campus. The custodians spend all summer cleaning and waxing the floors to bring the building back to "brand new". In the office, we have a check off list that we work off of to make sure we don't forget anything. We order office supplies, restock spirit wear, print off information for residency verification, do mail outs and call outs to parents about upcoming events, check out athletic uniforms and equipment, plan 6th grade orientation, and many, many, other tasks. I would say as a principal, my greatest task is preparing the master schedule. This is a cumbersome task which takes a lot of time to make it the best possible situation for the majority of all the students. Since we have teaming at Willkie, it makes the master schedule even more challenging, but our philosophy is that it is what is best for students. The master schedule is like a huge rubric's cube, but teaming is worth the time I devote to making it work.

We also spend our summers attending training to assist us in providing the best possible experience and education for our students. My role is to take the information I learn at these trainings and work with my staff on the best practices to implement, so that we can do our best to reach every child where they are and take them to where they can be."

Photo: Ed Willkie Middle School hallway taken by Jana Burns, EM-S ISD Director of Special Programs.