The Truth as I See It: Assistant Principals

YOU can blame ME., I will take the blame for adding assistant principals in our Elementary Schools.

First, remember that the Jordan School District has among the lowest administrative costs per student in the state of Utah.

A few years back, one of my Herriman Elementary Schools went into lockdown. The principal was not in the building.

We have wonderful Office Staff and teachers who jumped in to help. However, it’s our principals who receive specialized training for these kinds of emergencies.

I started asking around and found our elementary schools need more help. I visited our schools often and job shadowed one of our principals as I was “principal for a day.”

I found our principals are spending the majority of their day dealing with behavior problems in our schools. There was no time for principals to observe classrooms and help improve the teaching in our schools. That is their primary duty.

REMEMBER

Jordan District Schools are HUGE. We have some of the largest schools in Utah.

Are 3 assistant principals too many in a high school like Mountain Ridge, which has over 2,500 teenagers? An administrator is required to be at every activity of the school. Often, an Administrator is one of the first to arrive at school and leaves late in the evening. Some people complain they make more than a teacher; however, remember they generally work on an 11-month contract, not a 185-day contract.

With all the problems we have in middle schools, are 2 assistant principals too many for nearly 1,500 middle school kids?

REMEMBER: Jordan District has one of the lowest administrative costs per student in the state.

A few months ago, the outrage among some in the district was bullying. “Jordan needs to solve the bullying issue in our schools.”

Interestingly, we were criticized for bullying then and are now criticized again when we are taking steps to solve it.

I get it, some do not understand the needs of our schools.

I hope it never happens, but if a critical incident were to happen in our schools, the district and the board would be criticized for not having the support necessary to protect our kids.

I really think we need assistant principals in our elementary schools.

I invite anyone who does not think we need help in our elementary to come volunteer for a day with me. Watch what is going on, and observe how thin we are with trained professionals in our schools to administer to the needs of our children.

Remember that the Jordan District Leads the Way in reducing administrative overhead, and adding assistant principals and counselors in our elementary schools was critical to our school's success.

If you have comments on this issue you can call or text me at 801-699-8017 or email me at DrDarrellRobinson@Gmail.com