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Bruce,
I find it extremely unprofessional for a principal to quit during a school term.(health issues are a different matter) This man knew he was working on his doctorate before he took this job. He knew this was a new program and would take alot of work. Since Dr. Grier didn't even know about the resignation, until contacted by the press (if I remember correctly)-- I have to question the lack of communication between staff and Dr Grier; if we have a principal that is under that much strain and is considering quitting; shouldn't the superintendant know?

What a shame for the students at that school to have, yet again, a transition in administration. Personally I feel that GCS must have either
1)failed to inform this man of the expectations of being a HS principal
2)didn't provide the support needed
3)haven't provided an environment that fostered a partnership within parents/students/teachers/principals/administration/ or
4) a combination of these and more. We are failing our children when we can't hire and keep quality administrators.

Can we limit hours that a principal has to work? Maybe. Can the assistant principals and the principal take turns attending functions? I'm not sure if that happens now of not. I guess my gut reaction is when you take the job you realize that the after school functions are a part of the job; however if some of these time constraints could be eased, its possible that we could entice moe people into the field. Thanks for opening these points up for discussion.

Debora has made excellent points.

As far as being a principal, I think the hours and expectations comes with the territory. If anyone has worked in education long enough, he knows the hours, the salary, the summers off, what is expected and the dedication and commitment it will take.

Did Mr W not get the support he needed? Was the job not what Mr. W expected? Was it too much to handle? Only he can answer these questions.

As far as leaving in the middle of the year, I completely agree with Debora. It is totally unprofessional for anyone to leave in the middle of a school year (except for reasons such as illnes). It is the kids who, once again, will suffer. If he knew when he took the job he would still be working on his doctorate and this would be coming up. Why would he have taken this job in the first place?

Bruce, Jennifer has never answered my question on last blogg strand about Cassandra Barker Carr. A few weeks ago your newspaper printed an article about the new principal at Central. In that same article it was stated that Ms. Barr was coming back to GCS to take a job at central office very soon. In that same article, Ms. Barr stated that she never wanted to leave Andrews. Is Ms. Barr still coming back to work at central office? OR Is she remaining in Texas and working out of Texas in a consulting capacity for GCS? Or is she being considered for the job of principal at Andrews? OR Is she quitting GCS completely?

p.s. Bruce

How has anything affected the HP "Choice" Plan? the lack of adequate funding? lack of finding teachers? long bus rides? lack of planning? lack of money planned for the number of buses actually needed? lack of people who cared to listen before to all the reasonable arguments when they were presented many times? Logic does not play a role in the HP Plan. Politics does.

As those in HP say if it is so wonderful, take it throughout all of Guilford County. Why should HP enjoy all this success? It should be shared.

I doubt this one tiny setback will make much of a difference.

Principal John Wittmann will not complete his first year at Andrews. Wittmann cited long hours as a major factor in his decision. Since when doesn't a seasoned professional know that a new job in management -especially working within a public school system- requires long hours? Most leadership roles are not easy and require a massive amount of time and energy. Effective principals and teachers sacrifice many personal matters in order to educate and mold our students. As far as after hours events are concerned, the Andrews principal was visibly absent several times during his abbreiviated year with the school.

Wittmann wants to complete his doctoral degree in education at Virginia Tech - didn't he know that last summer before accepting the job? His timing stinks!

The whole messy disaster is par for the course in communities of "urban," "inner city," "free lunch," "under performing" circumstances. Parents and families who have continuously supported Guilford County schools have been let down once again because there is a lack of true concern for our children. We are being punished for the actions of a few who do not represent the majority core group of the community.

Good thing we have only three more years of being at the mercy of Guilford County because we are fed up!

Principal John Wittmann will not complete his first year at Andrews. Wittmann cited long hours as a major factor in his decision. Since when doesn't a seasoned professional know that a new job in management -especially working within a public school system- requires long hours? Most leadership roles are not easy and require a massive amount of time and energy. Effective principals and teachers sacrifice many personal matters in order to educate and mold our students. As far as after hours events are concerned, the Andrews principal was visibly absent several times during his abbreiviated year with the school.

Wittmann wants to complete his doctoral degree in education at Virginia Tech - didn't he know that last summer before accepting the job? His timing stinks!

The whole messy disaster is par for the course in communities of "urban," "inner city," "free lunch," "under performing" circumstances. Parents and families who have continuously supported Guilford County schools have been let down once again because there is a lack of true concern for our children. We are being punished for the actions of a few who do not represent the majority core group of the community.

Good thing we have only three more years of being at the mercy of Guilford County because we are fed up!

I haven't spoken with Mr. Wittmann about his decision to leave, but I can vouch that there is a big difference in the demands of being a high school principal versus being an elementary school principal. Over the years, I've talked with several other people who have made that jump and they all tell me it's much tougher to run a high school.

On the other hand, fed up parents makes a good point: Should he have known how tough the job was before taking it? I've never been a principal, but I have been a job candidate before and those are the types of questions I would ask before I took a job.

Debora, you are right that leaving mid-year isn't a good situation. I'm not saying that makes Mr. Wittmann a bad guy, but it does put Andrews, its students and staff in a bind.

And Barbara Ann, we'll try to find out Cassandra Barker-Carr's whereabouts and update you here.

Dear fed up parents,

I feel your pain, seriously. There is NO excuse for Mr. Wittmann's mid-year departure...or is there?

I almost want to defend Mr. Wittmann because I feel like IF he could, he would tell us the REAL story. But we all know that there's a gag order on any GCS employee's departure.

There's been a record number of "resignations" and "reassignments" under the leadership of Terry Grier. I refuse to believe that this latest shenanigan doesn't have his DNA all over it.

Be aware that not only is Mr. Wittman leaving this year but 3 of the 4 assistant principals assigned to Andrews now will not be there next year. Two have taken jobs as principals in other Guilford County schools and one is retiring.

Sandy

P.S. Yes, Barbara, I am a parent of an Andrews child despite your remarks.

Marcy,

I hear where you are coming from and you are right -- there has been a lot of administrative shuffling in recent years.

However (and this is just a feeling; I'm not basing this on any inside knowledge), I really don't think that the central office is forcing Mr. Wittmann out. I say that for several reasons:

1. Mr. Wittmann was the administration's hand-picked selection for the Andrews job. Given the intense public dislike of the High Point reassignment plan, it was imperative that they get the right principal in Andrews. After all, if Andrews fell apart this year, the critics could say, "I told you so."

If the central office and school board forced Wittmann out, they would be saying, in effect, that they made a mistake by hiring him. It doesn't make sense that they would bring this guy in from Virginia, trumpet him as "the right man for the job", then cut his legs out from under him before the end of the school year.

2. If they were intent on getting rid of Dr. Wittmann, why didn't they wait until the end of the school year? That way, they could quietly shuffle someone else into the job and it wouldn't be nearly as disruptive to the students.

On a more cynical note, it wouldn't be as controversial, either. Principals change jobs every summer, after all, and one more wouldn't be a big deal. But when a principal abruptly leaves mid-year, that becomes headlines in the newspaper. Dr. Grier and the school board don't want that kind of press and if they wanted to make a change, it seems to me that they would've picked a better time to do it.

3. But even if Dr. Grier had wanted to get rid of Mr. Wittmann and it had to be done now, I'm betting they would've had a replacement lined up.

Charles Benton, a veteran GCS principal, will take over for the rest of the year. But Mr. Benton was already working at Andrews as a special assistant and Mr. Wittmann's sudden departure leaves the school short-handed. I don't think that's what the school board wants. They want to give Andrews every chance in the world to succeed because if Andrews has a good year, it makes the High Point plan look good.

4. I didn't hear any clamoring from parents or teachers to get rid of Mr. Wittmann. That doesn't mean there can't be some other reason, but I haven't heard that he had made any enemies.

Again, I'm not basing this on any first-hand knowledge, just my knowledge of how the school board operates and what their goals are.

Everyone has already made some excellent points about this matter, but I would like to add a few additional thoughts.

I have previously been a personnel manager, acting to recruit qualified candidates to my organization. One of my greatest challenges was recruiting management personnel, which in many ways can be compared to recruiting school leaders, such as high school principals. One of the basic principles of recruiting management personnel that has been seared in my brain after some really great failed hires is that you have to be honest with candidates about what all aspects of the job entail. You almost have to sell the candidate on the job, then unsell them. You can't just sell them the sizzle and only tell them how wonderful your organization is and what a great opportunity the job is. You've got to be honest and tell them where they will likely struggle in the job and where the alligators are.

Also, you have to be realistic yourself in evaluating the candidate to be sure that they "fit" the organization and the job. It's called matching the candidate to the job. You may have one of the best qualified candidates in the world on paper, but if they aren't a good fit for the the culture and demands of the organization, they will fail. I suspect that these items were high on the list of reasons why Mr. Wittman failed in this job. Chantilly Academy is in uban Northern Virgina, is composed of only 11th and 12th grade students, has an enrolment of about 400-500 students, and provides courses in advanced technical and specialized courses in areas such as engineering. Did being an administrator at a techology academy such as this provide an educator with sufficient background to manage a Title I school in transition to an envisioned world class techology magnet?

Mr. Wittman may well have been the right person, if Andrews was an existing success as a world class technology magnet school, but I suspect that he was not prepared to be a transitional manager in getting the school to that point. Terry Grier and Mike Harris have to be held accountable for making classic recruiting mistakes with Mr. Wittman.

In addition, it was said that the demands of being a principal in a high school are too great. It's my understanding that Andrews has four assistant principals, and their jobs are to supervise and direct activities within their respective class assignments, something like assistant managers. This would be similar to the business world where a manager must accomplish their goals by working through other people. Did he do that sufficiently? Did Mr. Wittman have any real experience in managing managers? Did Mr. Wittman know how to accomplish his goals through others and let them do their jobs? Perhaps there is nothing in his prior history that prepared him for that challenge.

Let's face it, Mr. Wittman came out of a real world class school, the kind of school that Terry Grier and the school board only envisoned for Andrews when they created the magnet. The problem is that their vision is not the reality at Andrews today, if it ever will be. Would Mr. Wittman have been successful at Andrews if the reality was that Andrews was a world class technology school, and not just a dream in some board members' minds? I think that he likely would have been, as that is what he had been prepared to do. I suspect Mr. Wittman got a strong dose of the reality that exists in the High Point schools over the past few months, and it didn't appeal to him, as it is not what he wanted to do or was prepared to do. For that, I don't think that he should be criticized. That reponsibility rests with Terry Grier, Mike Harris and members of the school board who recruited him and sold him a bill of goods that didn't exist.

Sandy,
I thought the emphasis in GCS was more stability in administration. I realize that good people should be rewarded, and I am 'assuming' that the two assistant principals are being promoted/rewarded for a job well done.. makes sense they have to leave, but why the third? That would mean that 4 of the 5 principals/asst.principals will be new. That will make a very challanging year for that team and in turn for the school.

I really don't know what else I can say at this point. I honestly thought it would take longer for this misguided plan to achieve total failure.

Does anyone know if they are going to go through the motions of end of grade tests at Andrews or have they already left the keys under the mat?

I have a quetion for all High Point parents, how many of you now have Andrews listed as a 1st or 2nd choice on the application you received in the mail this week? If you do, perhaps you could share with everyone why you still have confidence in Dr. Grier, Ms. Kearns, Ms. Mendenhall, Ms. Sykes, Ms. Cooke, and Mr. Duncan.

Better yet, Bruce or Jennifer perhaps someone in the school system will share with you why parents should still be willing to participate in this train wreck over at Andrews.

By way, before the first Andrews parent vents at me, I am sorry that your child is in this situation. Just do not expect me to place my daughter in the same situation.

Okay Sandy, you have convinced me you are an Andrews parent. But per the previous blogg strand and your remarks, I have not heard other parents put down the kids at your school; no one that I am friends with.

Everyone has heard much this year about mismanagment and lack of leadership at the school and some broken promises about the greatness of the HP "Choice Plan". We all read the same newspapers that you do regarding the problems Andrews last year and this year. It is public record along with the number of arrests. These are not made up police reports.

There are indeed problems in every high school. See the Rhino today for a very interesting report on the meeting with teachers and all of their comments about real life in school and kids knowing they cannot be suspended; about the lack of respect and discipline. It is an eye-opener.

And at the SW forum this year, we met some great Andrews parents.

This just in from News 2 at 5:00

After one semester, the 3 schools in the High Point Choice Plan have greater numbers of students failing courses and lower attendance numbers for ALL 3 SCHOOLS compared to first semester last year (without the lottery).

I'm a gamlin man - I wouldn't place a bet on the success of this plan.

Now the trailers at schools are being used for sex. That's great. (Sarcasm) And I hear we are just adding more trailers every year. Wonderful. (Sarcasm)

Better add a Pre-natal Magnet School ASAP. (Truth)

I feel another "reassignment" coming for Lisa Cooke, the principal at Eastern High. Isn't that how our Superintendent fixes things?

Bruce,

Due partly to the stress of her 1st year at Andrews, Dr. Carr miscarried her first child (May, 2003). This school year, she was placed on bedrest (Sept, 2004) to prevent this from happening. She temporarily moved to Texas (where her sister is a nurse) for her family to help care for her. Dr. Carr's child was delivered - 7 weeks prematurely - in November. The baby spent almost 1 month in the hospital because of the complications. In addition, her daughter has had some health issues since being released. Dr. Carr has decided to focus on her daughter. She will not be returning to GCS this school year because of this.

Bruce,

In regards to Mr. Wittmann - There is no excuse for resigning mid-year. I agree with the others - there is another story here. I don't know if anyone remembers but, Mr. Wittmann was hired before the end of last school year and began working in either April or May. He was even allowed to move into an office at Andrews before the end of school. I say all this in response to Sandy and the others - He knew what he was getting into - FIRST HAND!!! In most principal situations, those hired from outside of GCS show up when students are not in school. In this case, Mr. Wittmann had the priviledge of being apart of the school before he took over (at least Grier and Harris tried to do something right). Mr. Wittmann was able to meet with parents, students and community members. So, he should have known how much time and work the job would entail.

I think we can all agree that Andrews has some challenges - just as all schools; however, everyone should realize that it will take more than a program and more than one year to make the situation better. I have not worked in a school but know that in the business world, it usually takes 3-5 years (if not longer) to reach sustainable success. I would guess that this is close to the truth for a school.

Again, I think there is another story that someone is not telling us . . .

knowswhereabouts:

enjoyed both of your posts. However with regard to C-B Carr the press did report her medical leave - that was nothing knew. They also reported that she is taking on a job at Central Office. Could she be doing that job from Texas? Bruce said he would find out and let us know so I am trusting him to do so.

Thank you for the update on Mr. W.

You are right about success in business. For most new businesses to open, you figure a loss the first year; break even the second; and then grow and make a profit.

Our schools, however, are public schools and they use taxpayer dollars and their goal is to produce an educated young person who can manage and make a living in the real world and hopefully, one day, contribute to society. We can't wait several years to experiment with young lives. We can't fail 3 to 5 years of kids. It is not the same goal as a business which is to eventually make a profit. It is totally different. We all pay the price in the end if we fail these kids. I, for one, would not like to be one of those parents whose kids is no more than a social lab rat in an unproven experiment.

Barbara Ann,

It is my understanding that Barker-Carr resigned.

In addition Barbara Ann, I agree with your position on the school process. I, too, would not like for my child to be a part of an experiment; however, I am sure that Andrews has some GREAT things academically going on for students (Sandy would agree); however, the success will probably have to be found in things other than test scores. We keep trying to make all of the students/people fit into the same mold. Some people are very bright; however they just don't test well. This is very tough for schools because we are in an era where we measure schools through test scores. I am sure that there are some schools in Guilford County that have excellent scores and there are so many OTHER things (ie drugs) that are happening that are totally unacceptable. It is sad to say that because the scores are good, our community looks at these schools as the place we want our kids. I guess we, as parents, have to decide which environment we want our kids. Do we want an environment of high performance test takers that are exposed to drugs daily or do we want our child to be in a place where there are a few fights, good teaching, and individual students who don't test well? (I am confident that Andrews - as other GC schools - has good teachers.) I don't have a high school aged child to have to make this decision, but it is something to think about. We just need to make sure that all situations are looked upon with naive eyes.

Just my thoughts . . .

Well, a new development happened at Andrews today. HPE had a series reporting on the problems at Andrews, as seen through the eyes of four seniors. These four young ladies were frank about the problems that exist at Andrews, and theirs was a cry for help for Andrews. It is obvious that they don't see Terry Grier or the school board as being part of the solution, but rather much of the problem. Of course, there have been many people saying that for the last year. It's worth the price of a Sunday newspaper (HPE) just to see what these four young ladies have shown the courage to say.

Perhaps Mr. Wittman's departure last week was about more than just his leaving to get his doctoral degree? This series on the heels of that resignaton seems rather interesting. I just wish that we could learn what wasn't reported in the newspapers. It might be very enlightening.

Teddy:

I have already asked that the N&R spend more time on the Andrews story as well. This is something that should not be dismissed or ignored.

There are serious problems here that cannot be fixed by adding layers of administration or specialized programs.

A good place to start would be on the number of teachers still needed to teach all the basic classes, let alone the specialized magnet classes.

I want to know how kids can play cards in the middle of the day in class. Now granted, they aren't in a fight or anything but this would certainly be considered disruptive behavior to any teacher who is trying to teach and totally disrespectful.

I have not heard anything about a class that has anything to do with dealing cards.

These girls are very admirable for coming out to speak about the problems in their school. A basic theme throughout the entire article is how they still loved their school and just wanted help and to make it better.

My favorite comment by one of the young ladies is that kids still need bounderies; that "we are still kids; we want discipline."

From the mouths of babes.