“This is an individual award going to a principal but this is something I share with the entire faculty, with parents, with the kids, with the district staff from the central office to the maintenance staff,” said Ross. He insists that his award is the fruit of many people’s labor. The fact we were doing that got a lot of recognition and had something to do with the recognition I got as a result,” said Ross. He noted that Wigo raised his awareness of data-driven education and the RTI program. “We get down to specifics because every kid is different,” said Ross. Through testing, teachers learn, for example, if a child has difficulty reading. We have gone to a much more data-driven system of accountability and decision-making,” said Wigo.Ī year ago Drexel Hill Middle School became one of six middle schools in a state education department pilot program for the Response to Intervention or RTI program that tailors curriculum to address individual needs of students. ![]() “The way we keep score in education has changed since No Child Left Behind (Act of 2001). One of the most tangible manifestations of Ross’s success as a principal, said Wigo, is Drexel Hill Middle School students’ achievement of their Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, in their state standardized test scores for the last two consecutive years after falling short the previous three years. “About six years ago I brought a group of staff members together and family members and teachers in the summer and we talked about the mission for the school and we came up with that as a group,” said Ross. The first letters of Drexel Hill Middle School also have a motto attached to them - “Dream, Honor, Motivate and Scholarship.” The kids can drain your energy and if you come here and have not recharged yourself, you won’t have anything to give the kids,” said Ross. “We think that people should know it’s important to take care of themselves and their families first. He encourages his staff to take care of themselves emotionally, physically and mentally and offers assistance in addressing problems they may have at home. unless there is an evening activity at the school.īefore he became principal, noted the father of three, Drexel Hill Middle School administrators adopted a philosophy of “family first” for the faculty. “I want to let them know my door is open to them, that I’m there to help them and the entire staff,” said Ross, whose work day usually starts at 7 a.m. They fear when you’re a principal, you lose that, plus the fact you’re here year ’round - no summers off for me,” said Ross.īecause of his desire to not lose touch with pupils, Ross said he makes a concerted effort to be accessible to his 1,250 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students and approximately 100 faculty members. “People get into education because they like the direct impact they have on individuals. “To equate it to the business world, it’s a middle management job where you have people from both directions bringing you problems,” said Ross.Īmong the reasons teachers are dodging the principal’s office are legal ramifications in such areas as special education, he noted. ![]() ![]() On a state level, I’d like to see a middle school certification,” said Ross.Īt the national conference, he also plans to express his concern over the declining number of teachers willing to become principals. ![]() “When I’m interviewing teachers, I’m interviewing people with either elementary or high school certifications. Department of Education on how to improve the nation’s schools. 22 and 23, he and his wife, Julie, are planning to attend the national principals association’s conference in Washington, D.C., where his expertise will be tapped by officials from the White House and the U.S. 4, Ross received the award during the Pennsylvania association’s conference in State College, Centre County. He was selected after a panel from the state principals’ association visited the school and interviewed students, faculty and parents to determine if Ross lived up to the award’s criteria of leadership, commitment to students and staff, service to community and contributions to profession. Wigo and then-Upper Darby School District Superintendent Joseph Galli, who preceded Ross as Drexel Hill Middle School principal and was his mentor, informed Ross he was the winner in early June. “Jon Ross is one of the educators who has led the way in school reform,” said Upper Darby School District Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction James Wigo who nominated the principal for the honor in February. Ross has been selected by the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals as the 2009 Pennsylvania National Distinguished Middle School Principal from a potential pool of the state’s 501 school districts. In the eight years since Ross has been at the helm of the middle school, he has apparently made a difference in many children’s lives.
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