catalyst-chicago.org

I got a lot out of watching the PBS documentary The Principal Story, reluctant as I was to actually sit down and do it. 

Watching "The Principal" on PB

Principal Tresa D. Dunbar 


Henry H. Nash Elementary School, Chicago, IL

Tresa D. Dunbar, Ph.D., Principal
A Pre-K-8 school in the city’s blighted west side Austin
neighborhood, the Henry H. Nash Elementary School has a student
population that is 99.8 percent African American;100 percent of the 800
students qualify for free and reduced price lunch according to federal
guidelines. The school is part of the Chicago Public Schools, the third
largest public school system in the country. In the film, Chicago
Public Schools’ CEO Arne Duncan described Nash as “a low performing
school historically that we could have closed.”
In 2001, the 24-year veteran principal of the school retired. During
the five years that followed, Nash was led by no less than six
principals – a time of upheaval that resulted in low morale and
disorder. Many of these principals were at Nash for a very short time,
either by their own choice or due to board removal. Since they had been
without long term contracts and had various levels of commitment,
establishing long-term plans and goals became paramount in order to
improve conditions for teachers and students.
In 2006, the Local School Council was granted permission to select
its own principal. After an extensive search, Tresa D. Dunbar, Ph.D.
was chosen to lead Nash. Two new assistant principals were hired, and
many staff members were dismissed.
Tresa came in with a mission of change, which she pursued with
deliberation and spirit. After first observing all aspects of the
school, she met with each staff member individually to ascertain what
they saw as barriers to their performances. The next stage was to
observe staff members – from teachers to janitors – to evaluate them in
their work environments. All staff members had individual follow-up
meetings to discuss their goals, review their performances and make
decisions about how they could improve. At the same time, weekly
meetings were held with students from every grade level to bring them
in line with new policies and procedures regarding their behavior in
and around the school. Meetings were held quarterly with parents and
community members to inform them about the changes taking place at Nash
and to ask them for their ideas.
All materials, books and equipment were inventoried, their benefit
to children assessed, and decisions made about what was needed. As a
result, Tresa and her team introduced a new research-based curriculum
with new textbooks. Computer equipment and software were installed and
the building was upgraded to wireless to connect students to the
Internet. The entire building was repainted and semi-refurbished after
an extensive campaign by the Local School Council and Tresa.
Many strides have been made at Nash since July 2006. Reading scores
have risen from 32.9 percent in 2005 to 47.8 percent in 2008; and math
scores have risen from 36.8 percent to 45 percent in the same time
period. Nash has been honored by Mayor Richard M. Daley for progress
and growth on the ISAT.
New committed teachers were hired. All staff is certified; highly
qualified teachers have endorsements in mathematics, computer science
and science. The upper grades have been departmentalized and a new bell
schedule, teacher grade level schedule and student schedule have been
put in place. All students wear uniforms and adhere to the school’s
dress code. Students receive backpacks on a yearly basis, and all
teachers are required to take students on at least three field trips a
year. The school is moving forward on its goal toward inclusion –
eliminating self-contained special education classes and offering all
students access to regular instruction on a daily basis. In the year
following the filming, the school has a more determined focus on
discipline, including utilizing the Positive Behavioral Interventions
and Supports (PBIS) approach.
Today, the Local School Council is very involved and supportive of
the administrative team’s efforts. Parents have begun to take ownership
of the school, and their children’s interest in school has increased.
The PTA is very active and visible in the school; parents volunteer to
help teachers on the playground and in the classrooms on a daily basis.
Tresa sees Nash as a community school in which parents take
responsibility to make sure their children are safe and well cared for
despite the daily economic challenges they encounter.
The school prides itself in providing its students with after-school
enrichment activities including a variety of clubs, choir, boys’ and
girls’ sports all-stars and a tumbling team. In the spring of 2009,
Nash will begin a music program including a drumline. For two straight
years Nash has been the CPS citywide 7/8th grade football champions.
For three years, Nash has received the highest rating, A, on all
external lunchroom and engineering audits. All external audits
regarding budget and finance have also passed with high marks. Monies
have been aligned to reflect students’ needs. All staff members are
given the funds, equipment and supplies to do their jobs. Adding to the
school’s resources, Tresa has developed numerous partnerships with
local organizations such as Washington Mutual, The City of Chicago,
Westside Health Authority, Bravos Law Firm, WGN-TV (Micah Materre,
Anchor), and Alderman Ed Smith, 28th Ward.
In the film, Arne Duncan said, “I have a real sense of hope in
[Tresa Dunbar’s] leadership and a sense that the school is going to go
in the right direction, and it is.”
Tresa D. Dunbar, Ph.D.
Two years ago, the Henry
H. Nash Elementary School’s interim principal was fired and replaced by
a self-assured principal named Tresa D. Dunbar, Ph.D. She had been an
assistant principal at Nash under the able 24-year veteran principal,
leaving in 2001 to pursue principal training. Following her training
and internship program, Tresa returned to Nash as the new principal.
“This was a huge school in a distressed community and the school
culture was depressed,” Tresa recalls. “There was a sense of
hopelessness.”
Today, Nash, which Tresa affectionately describes as “our house,” is
a changed place: “We completely changed the physical environment and
created a more child-friendly culture,” she relates. Initially
skeptical teachers have been won over; they see by her integrity and
her consistency that she really does appreciate their work, and
includes them in decision making. Tresa visits every classroom on her
daily rounds, acknowledging teachers and children. The Local School
Council, consisting of parents, teachers and community leaders is also
impressed. “She doesn’t talk out of both sides of her mouth,” one
parent volunteer explains. “The interim principals were only interested
in getting the job, not about what was best for our kids.”
Tresa sees herself as a highly motivated and goal-oriented
instructional leader committed to supporting student achievement. She
is uniquely qualified to pursue this goal at Nash. In addition to prior
positions from December 2001 to July 2006 as a LAUNCH principal or
assistant principal, including her year and a half at Nash, Tresa has
served as a school consultant for Chicago Public Schools’ Department of
Human Resources, was a teacher and social studies department chairman
at an alternative school, and was employed by the University of
Illinois at Champaign-Urbana as a teaching assistant and research
assistant in the department of curriculum and instruction. She was also
an evaluation specialist in the Center for Institutional Research and
Evaluation at the same university. Her Ph.D. is in curriculum
development and she holds endorsements in language arts, reading and
social studies. Along with her management expertise, Tresa has
extensive experience in designing and facilitating professional
development experiences for teachers.
Tresa says that she feels extremely honored to be the principal of
Nash and sees herself as just a part of the change that has occurred.
She believes strongly that the school’s progress has been a shared
effort; the entire process was driven by parents and students who
wanted more for their community. Tresa is dedicated to her work and
passionate about helping her students. In the film, she counsels a
group of 7th graders in the hall. She also asks for help from a group
of 7th grade parents. Tresa worries that, without the help of the
people most important to them, students may not take ownership of the
opportunities presented to them. So she works hard to involve their
parents, believing this is the only way things will change. As part of
reaching out to parents, Tresa visits homes on a regular basis, walks
the neighborhood and walks students home. She opens the school on
weekends so that students and families can meet with her. A driving
force is Tresa’s belief that Nash must honor its commitment to all
families to give their children an equal and excellent education.







http://video.pbs.org/video/1248700916/program/1154485580

http://www.pbs.org/pov/principalstory/