An Educator's Perspective

The principalship for the high school in which I work came open a few weeks ago as the sitting principal took a new building closer to his home. I have worked here as an Assistant Principal for two years now, and, since I have been looking for that first principal job for some time, I put my name in the hat.

The panel of nine members was made up of three staff members from the school, one student (who just graduated), three parents, another sitting high school principal, and our cluster director. I knew all of them but one person, and all had experience with me at some level. I was the first one interviewed yesterday - first a 30 minute writing sample - by the panel. I had 30 minutes to tell them what I believed and what I would do as principal, and I ran about two minutes long. Each member but one asked a question that was given to them from our human resources office and that was to reflect the pages of input they received from parents and staff about what they wanted in a principal.

Questions were about communication, school safety, differentiated instruction, collaboration, and other questions aimed at finding out what I have done in the past and what I would do as principal. As I left the interview, the person from human resources - who facilitated the interview - told me that call backs would be by that afternoon. I began second guessing my answers, wondering how I appeared to the panel, if I made the connections and my points as well as I could, but feeling the interview went well overall.

I got home a little before 4:00 PM so I could be there with my wife when the call back came. We talked about the interview again - I talked with her immediately after as well - took the dogs on a walk, but I still had a pretty good feeling. I began to get emails from others asking if I had heard anything, to which I replied no. I told my wife that if I hadn't heard by 5:00 I probably wouldn't be getting a call, and, when 5:00 came and went, I realized that I was not going to the next round.

That realization wasn't easy. That morning, I woke up with the real prospect that I could get my first principal job - that I would be leading a high school and work to make it the best high school by any measure. When I went to bed last night - early - that was all but gone. My entire perspective changed in a short time from what I could/would do as principal and the work plans I had began to sketch out to instead asking why they didn't choose me to move forward.

Am I not the kind of educational leader that people wish to work with? If so, what things in particular caused the panel to recommend candidates other than myself to go forward. This is difficult reflection, but I feel I must do it so I can be better prepared in the future. Are my thoughts, values, expectations, and ideas too different for this school and community? If they are, what purpose is served by being in this building?

It's tough, the things you wrestle with at times like these, but God knows best and I have been wonderfully blessed with what He has given me.