So Long, Dr. P--Don't Forget the Worms

After a turbulent week of endless phone calls, emails, and texting--we have failed to keep our beloved principal at our school.

To remove a principal who was doing something--who had a plan--to remove him after only two years is like removing the President of the United States after two years.  He had just gotten started.  And we won't know where it could have gone.  We were soaring ever higher at our school, and the sky had no limits.

The first day of school this year will be difficult.  "Where's Dr. P?" the kids will say.  I'll tell them that we have a wonderful new principal, and that Dr. P went to another school where they really needed him.  And then they'll ask about the worms. You see, Dr. P promised that if the school's test scores went up by 12 or more points, that he would eat 12 live worms in front of the whole school in September.  It's funny to think that eating worms will get kids motivated to perform well on a test, but sometimes it takes many different angles to accomplish our goal.  Dr. P played basketball with them, chatted, showed his battle scars, laughed, joked, and he even promised to eat worms.  The kids knew he cared about them and that he took them seriously.

I know the incoming principal comes highly recommended and I look forward to working with her.  However she will certainly have her own stamp on the ongoing plans.  And that's fine.  I'm sure our school will continue to thrive.  Still, it would have been nice to see what would have happened with Dr. P. still at the helm.

What good has come of this?  I am comforted by the fact that our community came together to fight for its right to be considered by the school district respectfully and thoughtfully.  I am happy that the families were able to come to a consensus on something--that this principal was good for the school and for the community at large.  I am impressed that many parents who were too shy to speak, spoke up for their right to be heard and taken seriously.  Sometimes we find our voice when we are under duress.

Goodbye, Dr. P.  It was a good ride, and I know we will always keep in contact.  I'm hoping that in September, you come back and eat some worms with the kids.