The principal who wrestles an F school to a C in one year gets demotion and pay cut [View all]

[teach1st]

First of all, I'm not a fan of grading schools. Mostly, in my opinion, school grades tell us about the demographics of a school and not about any bad or good teaching. But, this story, set in Pinellas County, Florida, the story of a principal who plays their game and wins big-time shows us that winning at their game is not enough.

Dunedin Elementary's C too late to save principal, teachers
Tampa Bay Times, in print on 7/17/14, by Katie Mettler

DUNEDIN — When Kathleen Brickley became principal at Dunedin Elementary in 2005, the school had an A. Since then, its enrollment of low-income students went up. So did the number of Hispanic students who needed help with English. Reading and math scores steadily declined. And in 2013, the state gave Dunedin an F.

So Brickley set goals and sought help from the city. She helped recruit volunteers and brainstormed with teachers on how to do better.

Last week, their work paid off. The state released school grades, and Dunedin earned a C, jumping two levels in one year, a rarity among Florida schools.

But for Brickley and 17 teachers who helped turn the school around, it was too late.

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Bottom line? The principal, teachers, and other staff took the school from an F to a C this year. I know these people. They did work their butts off. Their reward? Seventeen teachers were displaced. The principal was demoted to assistant principal at a different school and given a $25,000 pay cut.

The Superintendent? From the article:

When asked about the decision, (Superintendent) Grego said the school's grade had declined since Brickley took the helm. He also angrily objected to being questioned about the decision.

"The day that I have to justify every blasted move in our district . . . You can take over if you like," he told a reporter.