Each summer, school leaders anticipate the start of the school year and fresh opportunities. This anticipation is multiplied when opening day heralds a new building, a new curriculum, new staff, new students, and new parents all at the same time. Dale Rumberger, principal of a new secondary school in Fairfax County, Va., shares his insights on juggling those challenges in an interview with Terrey Hatcher Quindlen, editor of Education Update.
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ASCD: You've led the opening of two brand-new schools in Fairfax County—Westfield High School in 2000 and now South County Secondary School, due to open in September. If you could sit down with other leaders planning a major school construction effort, what advice would you share?
Rumberger: You have to have a little bit of ego to be a principal. But if you go into this process with a principal's ego, thinking you own it all, you won't successfully handle it all. You have to create relationships with people so you trust them and they trust you. Then they'll deliver their part of the job.
For many reasons, it's very important for the principal to be selected a full year in advance and be able to select key staff early as well. They all need access to the school board, the superintendent, and all the stakeholders, so they can understand their concerns.
ASCD: You have a process that brings all the key players together to coordinate school construction efforts. How does that work, and what are the benefits?
Rumberger: Fairfax County Public Schools has a team called the New School Opening Committee, which meets once a month during the year before the school opens. Members include the principal and an assistant superintendent, as well as representatives for finance, general services, transportation, safety and security, and so on. We keep each other updated on progress in our individual areas, discussions that need to occur, and deadlines we need to meet. The assistant superintendent for general services chairs the meeting and ensures that the principal doesn't push his or her own agenda.
Fairfax County Public Schools has an aggressive rebuilding campaign, so schools are renovated every 20–25 years to keep up with infrastructure—electric, water, gas, air—and technology changes. And we're always building new schools, so we need a process to coordinate it all.
ASCD: Can you give us an example of how this committee helps?
Rumberger: Recently, the risk management and safety and security staff raised some concerns about where students will walk to school. When transportation specialists came out to check, they found a section with no sidewalks. This is an area still under development, so we've contacted the builder to try to get that sidewalk in place before school starts.
That seems small, but it won't be small to the 50 kids who might not have a clear walking path or would have to take a longer route to school for a couple of months until the sidewalks are done.
ASCD: What red flags should administrators watch out for with new schools?
Rumberger: If a politician wanted to be involved in the staffing process or the curriculum process, that would concern me.
ASCD: How would you keep the politicians at bay?
Rumberger: Basically, I'd explain that it's not my job to get them votes, and it's not their job to design the school.
You don't want to pander to politicians, but you certainly can't ignore them. A bright principal explains the real-world implications, saying, "I understand exactly what you'd like to do, but is that the best thing that can be done for the most students?" Or maybe the goal is to do the best thing for a small number of students who need it and deserve it. You keep people focused on what's most important.
ASCD: What does it take to be the principal of a new school and not get too stressed out?
Rumberger: You have to realize that you're doing important things every day, but they vary greatly. One of those may be putting the final ink on the technology plan or answering specific questions from a parent or student.
At any point in time, you have to be ready and willing to go macro or micro—to look at the big picture or personal concerns. That's what a principal today has to do to handle the daily shifts in responsibilities.
