MiddleWeb | Juli Kendall's 2004-05 Journal

Juli Kendall's
2004-05
READING/WRITING
WORKSHOP JOURNAL

Entry #13

Portrait of a Principal Leader

"School is supposed to be fun, isn't it?"

– Ed Garcia, Principal

It's a revolutionary idea, this question from my new principal.

I'll always remember when he first asked me about fun at school. It was in reference to our new Journalism Club and the first few weeks of Wizard TV, our school's new closed circuit cable TV program. Ed arrived at our school unexpectedly several days before the start of school this year. He immediately called everyone on the phone and personally introduced himself. At the beginning of the first day of school, we found handmade bookmarks and personal, handwritten notes from him in every mailbox.

At our first staff meeting, he announced that he had been trained through the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project and we would be continuing (actually revisiting) the work we had begun several years ago in Writing Workshop. There was a hushed silence, since all of us wondered what that would mean. It turns out that it means he renamed our staff meetings as Staff Development Meetings and spends half of our meeting time modeling mini-lessons about how to teach Writing Workshop. He even created an amazing PowerPoint presentation, "Ideas for Writing in a Writer's Notebook." To keep us going, he provides bottles of water and lots of chocolate at each of the meetings.

His thing is writing — and reading like a writer — and it has been infectious! He reads books aloud over the PA announcement system, he reads books on Wizard TV, he lends books to kids (imagine that!), he lends books to teachers; his office is filled to overflowing with wonderful books. He brings large baskets of his own books to Staff Development Meetings and talks about how he uses them to teach writing. He's constantly sharing resources.

In classrooms, he doesn't just observe but also models mini-lessons for Writing Workshop using his Writer's Notebook, some writing he's "published" based on the seeds in his notebook, and great literature. He's made all classes copies of a chart for Writing Workshop (including illustrations). It's titled "The Writing Process" and includes:

– Collecting different seeds. (Notebook writing)

– Pick a seed and plant it. (Pick one idea. What do you want to publish? Write a draft.)

– The plant grows and grows. (Revise -- Rewrite -- Rework. Get it the way you want it.)

– Weed it! (Edit. Clean it up for the reader. Check grammar, spelling, etc.)

– It blooms! (Publish your work! Author's Day Celebration)

He's also given us a list of the four components of mini-lessons (Connection, Teach Active Engagement, and Link) and announced that soon teachers will be asked to submit a written Writer's Workshop mini-lesson to him for feedback.

But that's not all. He's recognizing the kids and their writing. He chooses several students each week to read their writing on Wizard TV, and he interviews these authors about their writing process. He's had kids read letters, poems, and stories — reinforcing the idea that all of us are writers. And he wants to know whenever any class is "publishing" their writing, especially if the kids will be reading it. He comes to the class presentations, and, while he's listening, he takes notes and writes comments to the kids about their work.

Every time I meet with the Journalism Club he's there to do a mini lesson or add some bits of important information. He's even been interviewed by four of our reporters. Here's their article:

AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. GARCIA
By Gabi, Melissa, Ricardo, and Diego

Ricardo: How does it feel being on TV on Thursdays from 8:30 to 8:45 AM?
Mr. Garcia: It feels great!

Melissa: Are you shy when people are seeing you on Channel 3?
Mr. Garcia: Sometimes I get nervous.

Gabi: How do you feel telling us all the news?
Mr. Garcia: I feel so excited telling you about the news.

Diego: How do you feel when the show starts?
Mr. Garcia: I want to make sure I do a good job.

Ricardo: What do you like about the show?
Mr. Garcia: I love spreading the good news about Whittier.

Melissa: Do you like taking turns with Mrs. Salazar?
Mr. Garcia: Yea, I like taking turns. I'm a sharing person.

Gabi: How are you going to feel if you are late on Wizard TV?
Mr. Garcia: I will be sad.

Diego: Why is Wizard TV important to you?
Mr. Garcia: It's important because I like spreading the news.

Diego: Do you like talking with kids on TV?
Mr. Garcia: Yes, I love it.

Melissa: Do you like reading books on TV?
Mr. Garcia: Absolutely, because people have ideas about reading.

Heydi and Miriam also wrote a Journalism article about Ed. It's filled with more interesting information.

MORE ABOUT OUR PRINCIPAL
By Heydi and Miriam

HEY! Students, do you want to know more about our principal, Mr. Garcia? Mr. Garcia likes the color blue. His favorite food is cheese enchiladas. His favorite music is Jazz and 80's music. He doesn't like animals because they make a mess. His favorite book is Abel's Island. His favorite movie is "Raising Victor Vargas." He likes to read, watch TV, listen to the radio, and go eat with his friends. Mr. Garcia's favorite plant is a poinsettia. His favorite state is California. That's all about Mr. Garcia!

All the while, our new principal is pumping up school spirit. He's got staff ordering denim shirts and rain jackets with the Whittier Wizard logo — and he wears his regularly. The school has raised twice as much money as last year on fundraisers, and they are anticipating an even more ambitious project.

It's a revolutionary thought, this idea that school is supposed to be fun, but it seems to be working. Teachers are more excited than ever about teaching and students are fully engaged in the learning process. And what's Ed saying to all of this? "I love these kids. They're the best!"

Now that's an Instructional Leader!

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