HISD Doubles Number of Principal for a Day Participants in 2009

District’s goal for seventh year is to have all campuses host guest leaders

Capital One Bank Marketing President Annella Metoyer (right) served as Principal for a Day at Hines-Caldwell Elementary School. With her is that school's principal, Bonita Morgan.

It’s been said that to really understand what another person’s life is like, one must first “walk a mile in his shoes.”

And that is precisely what more than 150 local business and community leaders did on the morning of October 16, 2009, as part of HISD’s sixth annual “Principal for a Day” initiative.

The 153 guest principals took the helm of roughly half the schools in HISD, to learn exactly what it takes to lead a public elementary, middle, or high school in the nation’s seventh-largest school district.

The number of participants “shadowing” campus administrators as they went about their daily routines in 2009 doubled from that of the previous year’s event, and Community Engagement Director Lucy Bremond says the district’s goal is to have full district participation in 2010.

“Giving local leaders a glimpse into the inner workings of HISD is such a powerful tool for illustrating the challenges of campus leadership,” said Bremond. “There are many rewards to being a public school principal, but there’s a reason it’s been described as ‘the toughest job you’ll ever love.’ School principals have to be good at resolving problems, managing a budget, developing instructional strategies, and marketing their schools. Those tasks require people skills, business skills, and a sense of vision—and it’s not just anybody who can meet all of those requirements.”

Celebrating the doubling of participation in HISD's 2009 Principal for a Day event this year were (L-R): HISD General Manager of Strategic Partnerships Caleen Allen, City of Houston Director of Education and Special Projects Linda Clarke, Capital One Bank Marketing President Annella Metoyer, Houston First Lady Andrea White, HISD Superintendent of Schools Terry B. Grier, HISD Board of Education member Paula Harris, and Communications and Publications Assistant Superintendent Lee Vela.

CenterPoint representative Patrick Stephenson, who served as principal for a day at Pat Neff Elementary School, agreed. “(Principal Anita Lundvall) showed calmness with every situation that popped up. Not only did she have me visiting for the day, she (also) had a parent conference, a television station show up for a report for the evening news, she celebrated her birthday with her staff, (ate) breakfast with me, and still had time to take me around and meet the second- and fifth-graders for some one-on-one time. One word sums up the day: awesome.”

Maggie Solomon, a partner in the Waters Solomon law firm, said that she valued the insight she gained from her experience as principal for a day at Sidney Lanier Middle School. “I really enjoyed my experience,” she said. “I was able to learn about some of the data they are able to pull on each child and the unique strategies they are using to assist teachers to identify areas of weakness and help develop an individualized growth plan for each student.”

Nancy Couch, a representative of Shell Oil Company, said the biggest benefit of her day as principal of Jaime Dávila Elementary School was a change in perspective. “I have lived in Houston for 29 years and haven't gotten a good impression (of the district) via media,” she explained, but “I walked away with an incredibly positive view of HISD.”

The 2009 Principal for a Day activities was generously underwritten by Capital One Bank, which has supported the annual event since 2006.

For more information, or to participate in next year’s Principal For A Day activities, please send an e-mail to PFAD@houstonisd.org