Partnership Princial
William "Rick" Johnson

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     Two years ago, William “Rick” Johnson assumed the position of principal at Fenger Academy High School. Upon entry into this position, Johnson discovered that 40 percent of his 86 member teaching staff had left the school to seek employment elsewhere and many of his students decided that school attendance was their last priority. After two years at Fenger Academy, the teacher matriculation rate has increased from 66 percent to 89 percent and attendance amongst Fenger’s 1,300 students is on an upswing.

    Dr. Johnson, who has been involved in The Principal’s Partnership since its inception, is guided by the belief that “as a principal, you are only as good as the people around you. If the teachers are not strong and supportive of your vision, you won’t be too successful. Teachers have to believe in you as a leader; then you’ll see movement in the school.”

     Guided by this philosophy, Dr. Johnson found young, aggressive, quality teachers to employ at Fenger Academy High School. By giving them the tools they need to succeed (professional development and teacher training), Fenger has witnessed monumental improvement in just two years. Upon the conclusion of the 2004-2005 school year, only 10 teacher vacancies existed in contrast to the 34 vacancies at the end of the 2003-2004 school year. Six of these 10 vacancies were due to retirement. In two years, “We have created a teacher-friendly environment, and now teachers don’t want to leave because they are happy to be here.”

     The friendly environment demonstrates that the Fenger administration believes teachers are professionals and should be treated as such. Johnson has inspired teachers by acknowledging the effort they put forth on a day to day basis by distributing special certificates to teachers that have gone the extra mile during a semester teacher recognition meeting. To accommodate the teachers technologically, Johnson has purchased flash drives for the entire staff. These flash drives contain the faculty handbook, all curriculum, and discipline and attendance documents. In an effort to improve the working conditions at Fenger, Johnson has created a state of the art faculty lounge including a bank of computers, several telephones, and televisions with cable access. Additionally, new furniture was purchased for the staff lunchroom. “Frankly, teaching is a stressful job, and we wanted to create a place where they could re-group, phone parents, and talk with their colleagues,” he reports. “Teachers now feel good about coming to work.”

     Another key to improving the quality of education at Fenger Academy is bringing focus to the curriculum and increasing the level of professional development that is offered to the teaching staff. “We wanted to move students out of just textbook learning into a more hands-on approach where authentic learning is occurring,” Johnson said. “But first we had to expand our teachers’ knowledge base so they could see additional options and employ cutting edge strategies.”

     In the past two years, 10 percent of Fenger’s teaching staff has received Advanced Placement training from the College Board. Fenger has expanded its Advanced Placement course offerings from two in 2003-2004 to six courses in the 2005-2006 school year. Student enrollment in AP courses has tripled from the 2004-2005 to the 2005-2006 school year.

     In addition to Advanced Placement training, teachers have attended conferences concerning Achievement Academies, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), small learning communities, literacy instruction, and test preparation. Fenger operates one of eight Achievement Academies in Chicago for 212 students who weren’t able to graduate from eighth grade. This academy is based on the Johns Hopkins’ Talent Development High School Model. The academy’s aim is to give the students the basic skills so they will have catch-up to their peers by the end of their sophomore year and can be placed in their regular community high school.

     In response to the increased levels of professional development, Johnson has exposed his teachers to new programs and instructional strategies, which they have been inspired to bring back to and implement within Fenger Academy. One of the new programs that has been instituted at Fenger Academy includes the AVID program, which has been incorporated into the curriculum and services 63 students in the academic middle by providing them with additional academic support and tutoring in an effort to prepare them for postsecondary education. Fenger Academy has also implemented its first small learning community, the Freshmen Academy. This Academy has united the Freshmen core courses through inter-disciplinary thematic units and brought coherence and relevancy to the freshmen curriculum.

     In an effort to raise the level of academic rigor at Fenger Academy and improve student performance on high stakes assessments, Johnson brought in an assistant principal, who shared his vision, and tapped into his staff to find a strong curriculum coordinator. Together, they were able to research effective testing programs, provide training to the staff, assess the needs of Fenger students, and employ best instructional practices to address these needs in classrooms. One of the key strategies that they relied upon was to administer a retired ACT test to their teachers. As a result, the teachers were able to experience the timed situation and test questions that the students were faced with on the spring assessment. This experience encouraged teachers to reflect upon their instructional strategies and re-evaluate their own methods of assessment.

     By rejuvenating the curriculum and exposing the staff to modern instructional practices and programs, Johnson has encouraged his staff to embrace new opportunities and take educational risks. Some faculty members have applied to present at national education conferences. Two of our teachers were invited to present at the 2005 National Council for the Teachers of English Conference. Presently, there are three staff members waiting to discover whether their proposals for the 2006 National Advanced Placement Conference were accepted.

     In addition to applying for conferences, several of our faculty members have applied for and been given grants, which have enabled them to begin new initiatives at Fenger Academy. In the winter of 2005, Boeing Employee Community Fund donated more than $13,000 to Fenger to support an Attendance Incentive Program. Attendance has risen from 80 percent in the 2003-2004 school year, to 84 percent during 2004-2005, and is anticipated to rise to 88 percent in the 2005-2006 school year.

     Another grant which was awarded to Fenger in the spring of 2005 was the Garden Grant. This grant has permitted the science faculty to improve the school greenhouse and horticulture program at Fenger Academy. The original greenhouse, which was built in the ‘80s,’ needed refurbishing. With the grant, two ambitious science teachers were able to write a unit on horticulture and update our greenhouse by planting new indoor and outdoor gardens with our students.

    “Presently, our greenhouse is thriving and our students produce poinsettias and sell them during the holiday season. This has done wonders for the kids’ morale,” indicates Johnson. “Most inner city kids don’t have the opportunity to grow plants and learn first hand about nature. This program is bringing education to life for these students.”

    While much has happened in two years at Fenger Academy, Johnson still feels young and energetic as long as he is around students. “They make me feel young, and so I try to stay close to the kids,” he says. “I eat breakfast and lunch with them and walk them out of the building at the end of the day. And that can be very humbling because kids are very truthful. They tell you if your tie doesn’t match and if they don’t like a teacher. But it’s great when a student says you’re doing a good job; it’s much more pleasing than accolades from adults.”

    Johnson believes that The Principals’ Partnership is providing new ideas for many school leaders. “There’s no need in re-inventing the wheel, and principals in Idaho and Wyoming face many of the same challenges as we do in Chicago. I’ve been able to gain and share ideas with principals in many different communities. We need to spend more time just talking to each other.”

     More information about Fenger High School can be obtained at http://www.fenger.cps.k12.il.us, and Johnson can be reached at
[email protected].

 
Past Focus Principals:

Focus -Ken Ball
Focus- Dan Tenuta
Focus- Charlesetta Deason
Focus- Rene Posey
Focus- Stuart Baker
Focus- Paul Smith
Focus- Christie Gestvang
Focus- John A. Butterfield
Focus- Janie Hill Hatton
Focus- Steve Warmack
Focus-Glen Clark
Focus- William Dunn
Focus - Richard Pemberton
Focus - Dr. Anthony Spivey
Focus - John Weigel