The job responsibilities of a middle school principal are endless, but one of the most important is creating a positive environment in which students can learn.

Such is the key to success for Kelly Richers, principal of Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Wasco Union ESD, who has been named ACSA’s 2009 Middle Grades Principal of the Year.

“My personal ideas on what constitutes a school that is a desirable place to come study, learn and to work evolve around the central idea that we must engender a love for learning in students or we are fighting a battle that cannot be won,” he said. “To this end, teachers must like what they are doing and, of all the persons involved with the school, usually have the best ideas of what to do to get students advancing.”

And advancing is something the students in the Wasco district are very familiar with. Under Richers’ leadership, the API and AYP rose steadily at both Thomas Jefferson, which he took over in 2007, and Palm Avenue Elementary, where he served previously.

In fact, Thomas Jefferson, which saw an 18-point API increase in 2007-08, is the first school in the district to achieve the required improvement in all subgroups. It also exited from the lowest decile of 1 to a 3 last year, also a district high.

Richers said leading his schools to success was not an overnight task. At each school, he spent up to a year understanding the school culture and developing a philosophical five-year plan of what he would like the school to look like at the end of that time. The plan encompasses many ideas, including academics, teacher training, teacher dynamics with district and site administration, physical plant and embedded challenges, such as bullying, community perception, placement of students, philosophy of honors classes, outside activities and parental perception of the school.

He said the idea of being the leader is more about showing personnel at the school how they can achieve academic success through their own preparation within the context of each person’s private agenda. 

“The key is taking the time to find out what that agenda is, and using it to promote the group dynamics,” Richers said. “Everyone at school is good at something, and everyone, including me of course, needs help many times during the year.”

Richers also took advantage of many programs offered by the state for school improvement. He developed programs under the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and High Priority Schools Grant Program as well as an exiting School Assistance and Intervention Team. He also implemented a Saturday School program and worked to banish the effects of gum on campus.

“This may seem like less important aspects of the job, but the overall impetus is upon making each school an educational facility where excellence doesn’t just happen, but is sought and developed as a goal,” he said.

Richers began his career as an eighth-grade science teacher in the Norris ESD, later becoming vice principal at Jefferson from 1992-02, vice principal at Palm Avenue in 2002-03 and principal at Palm Avenue from 2003-07. He has presented at the California State University, Bakersfield Leadership Institute and has been guest speaker at CSUB in middle school and administration graduate classes.

An ACSA member since 1993, he has been involved at the charter, region and state levels. He served as president of the West Kern Charter, director of ACSA Region 11 and member of the state Middle Grades Education Council and Co-Administrators Committee. He has been named Co-Administrator of the Year at both the elementary and secondary levels for Region 11 and the West Kern Charter.

As any educational leader can attest, the job is not without its challenges. Richers said the most difficult part is finding a balance between the myriad requirements implemented by the state and federal governments.

“The most challenging parts of being a site principal these days are the constraints put upon you by those not active at the site,” he said. “(Everyone) wants the best for students, but legislating how to accomplish that sometimes causes ancillary fallout that impedes the progress someone at the site might have a better opportunity of accomplishing. The freedom to innovate is disappearing.”

That said, no other job is as rewarding, Richers said.

“The best part of being a principal of middle grade level students is that you never know what you say or do that may impact a student,” he said. “You have the obligation to be positive, relevant to their lives, and optimistic about their futures, just because of this one aspect of interacting with them.”

Each of ACSA’s 19 job-specific 2009 Administrators of the Year will be featured in EdCal through Nov. 2. They will be formally honored during ACSA’s 2009 Leadership Summit, Nov. 5-7 in Sacramento. To register for the event, contact the Educational Services Department at (800) 608-ACSA or visit www.acsa.org/leadershipsummit.