Partnership Principal

Jeanene Sampson

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     Four years ago, after working in education for only five years as a special education teacher and a 6-12 principal of a 250-member K-12 building, Jeanene Sampson was named principal of the 1,300-student East High School in Sioux City, Iowa. Since then she has been motivating students and her staff to strive to be their best, and good things are happening at East.

     “Our kids are great,” beams Sampson. “We have the highest percentage of students in our district that go onto post-secondary education, our scores are above the state and district averages, and East High students have the highest ACT average in the district as well.”

    Her only frustration about being principal of the comprehensive 9-12 East High School is that she’s “not involved with kids every day as much as I would like to be because I have to spend so much time with the ‘big ticket’ items.”

    However, Sampson, a former three-sport standout at Dakota Wesleyan University who last year was inducted into the university’s Hall of Fame, is thrilled with being a principal.

   “I truly enjoy having the opportunity to motivate students and teachers to be their best and watch visions come together. When I came here, staff members were not given many opportunities to collaborate outside of their departments. There was little cross curricular collaboration. We have focused on professional development and now are moving toward more cross discipline work primarily using the model of Professional Learning Communities (Richard DuFour’s work).”

   Much of Sampson’s time is devoted to professional development for her staff, which includes 73 teachers and 110 staff members overall. That will be important in the coming years as the school faces a high level of retirements. One of her most important accomplishments is empowering teachers to share their expertise through an internal facilitation focus for professional development content rather than always bringing in the “expert.”

     
    “I want teachers to empower students, and I try to model that as a principal empowering teachers,” she reports. “Students need to see the relevancy in what they are expected to do. Students also need to understand the expectation to connect content knowledge to application, and this starts in the instructional model that I expect from each teacher. The Rigor/Relevance model is one ingredient used to support the foundation of our focus on instruction and curriculum. When teachers are able to identify that THEY are responsible for supporting the building’s vision, they are much more confident in how they approach the expected goal.”

     East High has developed a walk through model as one way to help teachers improve their skills. It was created through a combination of Jerry Valentine’s, “One Minute Walk Through” and the Chicago Public School model with a direct focus on building professional development goals. We have also utilized our Area Education Association to measure teacher and student engagement through the “Instructional Practice Inventory” model. The direct feedback for teachers has allowed them another vehicle to reflect, refine and strengthen their programs, according to Sampson.

    Sampson believes that today’s effective principals need to be instructional leaders first. A shared vision on student learning and teaching allows schools to meet the expected outcomes. A critical component to achieving this is matching staff members so they can successfully support and accomplish building expectations. The entire staff was trained on “Showing Your True Colors” personality training to allow a more successful community approach to professional development.

   “The day of the principal as manager is past; being an instructional leader is what will make a difference. We can no longer just rely on standing in the hallway, shaking hands and calling ourselves effective.

    These efforts are leading to more programs for students both academically and developmentally, such as a ninth grade transition program, and Principal Advisory Board, etc. East High has one of the highest percentages of students in student involvement programs in the state, and EHS takes a lot of pride in stating that.

  The school has also implement a “Raider Shield” program to help students understand the importance of and to practice five character traits that will carry over into their adult lives—tolerance, integrity, respect, responsibility and school pride.

   “These are skills that we not only hope our students learn but will pass along,” Sampson said. “Many of our graduates will remain in our area and feed their youngsters into the schools. These traits will serve them well as citizens of the world.”

   The student’s voice is also being heard at East High. Sampson started a Principal’s Advisory Board of students representing the student body. “They help us interpret items identified as concerns on our climate survey as well as visit about many other topics that are relevant for students and faculty.”

    Another successful program at East is the Academic Enhancement Center. This program provides academic credits for students who may be at-risk for graduation, in their fifth or sixth year, credit recovery, need summer school and/or extended day options. This program serves approximately 120 students who might not have otherwise graduated.

  “We have students for whom the traditional school setting just doesn’t work” Sampson explains. “We are providing them a very structured program geared to their needs and helping kids who might not have been able to find support elsewhere.”

   She has found that The Principals’ Partnership is a wealth of information and support.

    “When I joined The Partnership, I was apprehensive. I thought it was too good to be true. I have gotten so many ideas from so many other principals; and whenever I ask for something, I receive it. The Partnership is still too good to be true, but I now understand it’s a true effort to appreciate school leaders.

  “Frankly when I went to the Institute this summer, I wasn’t sure I still wanted to be a principal. There, I saw how much we were appreciated. In a way, my experience at the Institute saved my career as a principal.”

   More information about East High School can be found on the school Web site, www.ehs.sioux-city.k12.ia.us, and Sampson can be contacted at [email protected].

  
Past Focus Principals:

Focus- David Gilligan
Focus - Joy Walton
Focus- William Roberts
Focus- Franklyn Wesley
Focus- Magdalena Gutierrez
Focus- Kent Bergum
Focus- William "Rick" Johnson
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- Kittie D. Weston-Knauer
Focus- William Dunn
Focus - Richard Pemberton
Focus- Dr. Anthony Spivey
Focus - John Weigel