01/31/11 The 10th Annual Principal for a Day event in the Plymouth Community School Corporation was held on Friday with 10 citizens getting the opportunity to follow a corporation principal for half a day.
The experience is quite an eye-opener for those who attend. Even though some have students in the school system they still learn from the experience.
Jim Bottorff from WTCA shadowed High School Principal Jim Condon. Technology was something he knew they used but seeing it in action was something else. Mr. Condon was able to look-up Bottorff’s son’s schedule on his phone and found him in study hall. Condon explained that his phone is used constantly, not just locating students but in the class rooms when he is evaluating a teacher. Bottorff was also able to experience a fire drill and seeing 1200 students out of the building behaving appropriately and how the teachers use signage to let the administration know everyone is accounted for.
Nick Chaney from US Granules said the technology is so much more available to students than when he was at PHS 10 years ago. Many of the classrooms he visited had students working on computers rather than using text books.
Ryan Jessen, the new President of the Chamber of Commerce shadowed Mike Dunn, Menominee Elementary School Principal. Ryan said he saw all of the school from the classrooms to the kitchen and cafeteria and gymnasium. Ryan was pleasantly surprised to see the students coming to school with such a positive attitude. He said, “The kids came in smiling, giving teachers high-5 and genuinely excited to be there.” He also was amazed that Mr. Dunn could remember each child by name. He said, “It seems like each student knows goal and what they need to do to make that goal.”
Principal for a Day was a program begun under Governor Robert Orr and has continued in the Plymouth School System. Superintendent Dan Tyree said, “It’s very important for schools to connect and interact with the communities that they exist in. Parents are such a vital part of the education process and giving them ways to be involved with that is an important part of learning.”
