Principal Thoughts

I sometimes find myself feeling conflicted about issues within the educational realm, and such is the case as we begin the 2010-2011 cycle.  You see, Zionsville Community Schools have made news as one of the fortunate corporations that has not cut teachers as it navigates the waters of economic downsizing.  Truth be told, ZCS faculty, Zionsville residents and our students’ parents are proud of that fact.  Unfortunately, this fact only reveals part of the story.  Whether to reveal the other part is where my internal conflict begins.

You see, I happen to believe that we employees are given a job to do, that we should do it well, and, frankly, we should do it with a smile on our faces.  After all, students are watching!  I prefer schools to function like ducks swimming on a lake.  Though we’re paddling furiously under the water, onlookers should just see us gliding across the top.

I also believe in full disclosure and in telling the whole, unvarnished truth.  I feel that if schools expect parents to be valuable partners, then they must be clear about the school’s situation at all times.

Therein lies the dilemma.  ZCS should be proud that no teachers have lost their jobs as the result of our financial limitations.  Parents should be happy about this situation, as well.  But they should also know that the same size school population at ZMS currently has seven fewer teachers than it had two years ago (’08-’09).  

Our reduction in grades 5 and 6 has required us to change the way we are structured, and we no longer have a “homeroom” teacher for each section of students.  Our structure in the past has been similar to that of an elementary school, a fact that made it easier for students to transition to our environment.  While it is incumbent upon us to make this change for students a smooth one, the combination of this structural change and class size averages of 30 make creating a warm, personable environment much more challenging.  Where students once were able to refer to “my teacher,” they are now relegated to “my team.”

The impact has ripples in every aspect of the school.  As silly as it sounds, the change in staffing even restricts our ability to have indoor recess because we must have PE each period in order to have a place for each 5/6 section.  Our librarian now teaches 5th and 6th grade classes making her largely unavailable to 7th and 8th graders.  Our director of student services and athletics will no longer work at ZMS, and the two middle schools will share an athletic director — a move that will suitably cover both athletic programs, but leaves us without significant support in managing student behavior and our facility.  ZMS has two fewer secretaries and 3 fewer instructional assistants since 2008.  It is fair to say that we have pinched in nearly every area.

Having said all of that, it is my hope that the children of ZMS and their parents don’t even notice that these things have happened.  It is our job to make certain that every deficit is covered, that personal care trumps structural deficiencies, and that larger class sizes do not impact our interest in open-ended, higher-order assessments despite their time-consuming nature.

I want this school to glide on the top of the water.  I want you to think, “What’s the big deal?” but I want you to know that there is one.