Working Together, Making Connections

In my 40 years as an educator, I had the privilege of being a classroom math teacher working with students ranging from Pre-Algebra to Calculus, a coach of football and tennis, a yearbook advisor and department chair. I also had the opportunity to share the story of our school’s success as a speaker at a number of events. These included a Department of Education Summit, the Texas Association of Secondary School Teachers, and several groups of visiting educators from around the country. The culminating activity was a 20-minute meeting to discuss math education with the President of the United States. However, I regard the relationship I developed with Mel Riddile during a decade of work together as one of the most important aspects of my career.

During that time Mel and I diligently sought to improve the communication between the teaching and administrative staffs within our school. This disconnect is a consistent problem in education, and with Mel as principal and myself as curriculum coordinator, we created an environment of “bottom up” leadership where the teaching staff was given genuine input into educational decisions implemented in the building. After I retired Mel asked me to work with him on ThePrincipalDifference.org. I view this collaboration as an opportunity to share the work we had done at our school with a larger audience.

My goal is to give readers the perspective of the classroom teacher on the critical educational issues while reinforcing the importance of meaningful dialogue between every group within a staff.  I am also currently working on a book that will detail this innovative approach as it unfolded at our school.