In January 2020, I was blessed to assume the principalship of Rice Junior High School in Altair, Texas, which meant packing my bags and moving 300 miles to South-Central Texas from Fort Worth. It also meant leaving the comforts of home and the amenities of city life and moving to a small rural town where I knew no one. Despite the uncertainty, I met the challenge of leading a school with great enthusiasm.   

When I took over the principalship, the campus culture needed discipline, and the focus of student behavior was slightly less than academic. Fast-forward five months, after students had been sequestered due to the pandemic, and the campus was 100% transformed when our school reopened for face-to-face learning. 

Respectful, Responsible, and Kind  
The new safety guidelines we have implemented instantly brought order and structure to the campus. The measures we have put in place include:  

• Students’ eating breakfast in first-period classrooms.  
• One-way traffic with 6-foot social distancing in the halls.  
• Staggered dismissal of small groups during passing periods.   
• Propping interior doors open at all times.   
• Facing students the same direction during lunch.  
• Socially distancing students while they eat.   
• Strict protocols for use of masks and hand sanitizer.   
• Installing automatic hand sanitizer stations in every room.  
• Stocking schools with wipes, cleaning supplies, sanitizers, shields, and masks for emergency use.  
• Removing tables in the teachers’ break room.  

As a leader, I pondered whether so many restrictions and procedures would create a negative, stifling campus culture. To be proactive and mitigate concerns about the increased restrictions, I assembled two committees: the Student Culture Leadership Team (SCLT), charged with finding ways to celebrate student achievement, and the Campus Culture Leadership Team (CCLT), charged with creating a positive campus culture, improving morale, and developing strategies for us to take care of our teachers. If we lift up our teachers, then they are better equipped to lift up our students. Teachers are the heart and soul of our school. What they are being asked to do is beyond enormous; they have adapted and shifted their professional practice almost overnight. Teachers have participated in hours upon hours of guided and self-taught professional development to learn how to provide remote instruction. They are on the front lines, and they deserve our full support, appreciation, and gratitude.   

The SCLT has implemented small measures to make students feel welcome and at home. An immediate initiative was creating “The Wall of Fame,” an area where students and teachers recognize and honor each other for exhibiting positive behaviors. When we catch each other exhibiting one of our campus’ core values, we recognize that person with a written “honor card.” The committee also implemented a program to recognize students based upon academic performance, behavior, attendance, and attitude. This is a small celebration that takes place every three weeks. The program resets every three weeks. If a student does not meet the criteria, they have another opportunity to join the celebration during the next cycle. The celebration is simple, but it allows for some social time, a snack, and music.  

The CCLT’s first task was asking teachers to create a list of the values they thought most important to instill in students. The committee collected and distilled this data to create the campus values: Respectful, Responsible, and Kind. In small groups, the teachers wrote action statements that aligned to the core values.  

Thinking Forward  
Once we had addressed safety and school culture, I asked myself, “What next?” There’s no time or room for complacency in education. As a campus leader, I must think strategically, systemically, and proactively. Creating a learning-centered culture is simply step one.   

With schools reopened, I think it is important to be flexible and look for ways to take care of the social-emotional needs of all students and teachers. As a principal, I wonder if students are returning with a slight bit of trauma from learning to live in a post-pandemic world. My students seem slightly shell-shocked, but happy to be back. School is about learning the curriculum, for sure, but it is also equally as important to focus on creating positive, productive citizens who take care of and look out for one another. It takes all of us working together to keep each other safe and keep schools open.   
 

Jennifer Orona was raised in Fort Worth, Texas, during a time when opportunities were limited for Hispanic children growing up in poverty. She credits her high school English teacher, Mr. Calder, with changing her life by challenging her to want more from life. Orona started her career in 1997 and has a master’s in educational administration, a master’s in library science, and bachelor’s in history, political science, and education. Orona was a 2015-16 Charles Pickitt Administrator of the Year finalist and has served in the capacity of principal since January 2020 at Rice Consolidated Junior High School. Previously, she served as a high school social studies teacher, as the first-ever Hispanic female high school librarian for Fort Worth ISD, and as an assistant principal. 

Are you an ATPE member with a story to tell? Email comm@atpe.org for magazine submission guidelines.