Meeting held at Ridgeview Middle School on Characteristics Desired in a New Principal

Parents at Ridgeview Middle School were given a chance to participate in the search for a replacement principal on Wednesday, after Carole Levine’s surprise announcement of her departure last month.

Dr. LaVerne G. Kimball, MCPS Community Superintendent for the Quince Orchard School Cluster, and Ms. Elizabeth Strubel, School Performance Director, held a meeting at Ridgeview Middle School to gather input from parents on the characteristics they desire in a new principal.

“I am committed to working with you to find the very, very, very best principal for your school,” Kimball said at the start of the meeting.

Principal Levine first went on a leave for personal and medical reasons in February and then sent a letter to parents on March 4th stating that she would be retiring as of April 1st. Nancy Schultz, a former School Performance Director for the district, has been acting principal since Dr. Levine's leave and will stay at the school for the remainder of the school year.

Kimball said that even though state law says the selection of principals rests solely with the District Superintendent, Montgomery County prefers to involve all interested parties in the process, including central staff, teachers, and parents.

Once it is known there is a vacancy, she explained, they conduct school community meetings to gather desired characteristics. Then, they select a panel of a minimum of 15 people from the central staff, the school staff, and parents, who reflect the diversity and needs of the student body. This will include representation from different departments of the school, from all races, learning levels and special needs represented in the student body.

Candidates for the position will come from within Montgomery County Public Schools, Kimball said. In order to qualify for the position of principal, a candidate must have gone through a training program that includes experience as a first assistant principal, second assistant principal and a principal intern.

MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast, MCPS Deputy Superintendent, Frieda Lacey and Kimball will interview the final one or two candidates before an official appointment.

On Wednesday, parents were asked to fill out a survey identifying the characteristics desired in a new principal. The characteristics list included leadership skills in areas of academics, accessibility, changing with the needs of the students, and working with staff and parents. Kimball said the form was available upon request from her office for those who were not able to attend the meeting. She also said she would like to hear from people via email with their suggestions.

One parent brought up the state of the special education program in Ridgeview, saying that it had failed within the district's own guidelines. Several other parents agreed.

Another parent said that there was a discipline issue within the school which needed to be handled firmly, citing an example involving students ridiculing a Spanish teacher last year and the teacher not getting the support from administration that she needed. He went on to say that there have historically been other behavior and bullying problems within the school population that could have been dealt with in a better way.

A parent who said her children came from Thurgood Marshall Elementary asked that the new principal work with the racial and cultural diversity within the school to encourage more interaction among the kids. She said that she noticed that once children came to middle school, they tended to break off into racial groups more than in elementary school.

Several parents discussed the need for a principal who understands both the emotional and physical developmental issues of adolescents in this age group and the dynamic between needing a balance of discipline and freedom. Other parents cited the need for better communication and respect between teachers and the administration.

Stubal took notes on all comments from parents.

“Throughout the entire process,” Kimball said. “We value the input from the community. Parents can email me at Laverne_G_Kimball@mcpsmd.org.”

This meeting was the second step in the MCPS principal appointment timeline. The timeline continues as follows:

3/24/2011 – Staff Characteristics Meeting

3/30/2011 – Parent Characteristics Meeting

3/21-3/25-2011 – Advertise in Human Resources

4/11/2011 – Conduct Panel Interviews

5/10/2011 – Official Board Appointment