Warren County School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Terrill outlined the function and purpose of having a principal spend time in the classroom at Tuesday evening's meeting of the school board's Personnel, Athletics and Co-Curricular Activities Committee.
Terrill presented the information, which included pictures of students engaged in activities and inspirational quotes, in the form of a lesson similar to what teachers would present to students.
"The principal has a lot of responsibilities, they juggle a lot of tasks," Terrill said, adding that those tasks include the areas of discipline, scheduling, budget and financial management and complaints.
Currently, the principals in the Warren County School District evaluate their classroom observations utilizing a walk-through form designed by the district as well as a form from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Criteria evaluated by principals include teacher and student behavior, classroom activities and incorporated technology.
Following Terrill's presentation, the board members, central office administrators and principals were divided into three groups and asked to answer questions based on principal and superintendent visits to the classroom and the appropriate number of times a principal should visit the classroom.
The group of principals thought it was necessary for the principal and superintendent to visit the classroom to evaluate instruction, be an instructional leader and help morale. The board believed that the time spent in a classroom must be used effectively, with feedback being relayed to the teacher. Central office administrators brainstormed ways for the principal to efficiently visit the classroom, citing the use of netbooks and additional professional development opportunities to develop time management expectations.
Terrill provided a guide to effective lesson planning, operating under the six teaching strategies of anticipatory set, modeling, guided practice and checking for understanding, grouping and reteaching, closure activities and independent practice activities.
According to Terrill, the presentation was "based on what the board wanted" and emphasized the point that "all kids can learn."
Under new business, the committee forwarded the certificated and support personnel reports, volunteer report and the athletic and co-curricular supplemental contracts to the full board for approval.