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2004 Assistant Principal of the Year
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| Patricia Adkins James M. Bennett HS-Wicomico County |
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Patricia Adkins, assistant principal at James M. Bennett High School in Wicomico County was named the 2004 Assistant Principal of the Year at the MASSP Assistant Principals Conference at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Ms. Adkins began her career in Wicomico County as a special educator at Bennett High School in 1994. She became the assistant principal at Wicomico High School in 1999 and moved back to Bennett High for the 2003-2004 school year. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore at Princess Anne in 1994 and her Master's degree in Public School Administration at Salisbury University in 1998. Ms. Adkins spent one period each day last year teaching reading to ninth graders with reading disabilities. Many administrators would like to spend more time in the classroom but few actually schedule themselves in one. This allowed her not only to raise the reading levels of these students but also to establish a connection with teachers in the classroom. This concept was new to Wicomico County. Administrators had never taught while being in an administrative position. Students benefited with increased reading levels and she felt that this put her back in touch with teaching and that the experience enhanced her administrative program. She implemented a Fine Arts Week program in March that exposed students to all areas of the fine arts. She arranged for students to experience a variety of workshops by scheduling artists to come into the school and give workshops. Workshops on wheel thrown pottery, photograms, acrylic painting, percussions, and improvisation were presented. Several times during the week a 15-minute video was shown to the entire school. The evaluation of the week indicated that it was a worthwhile experience that should be repeated. Faced with the challenge of having special education paraeducators feeling disenfranchised she did a needs assessment and organized a professional development program for each month for these much relied upon individuals. In the past they had not been a part of staff meetings or staff development programs. This special program designed just for them not only provided the needed staff development in areas of behavior management and effective communication but it provided an opportunity to be a part of a team and to feel appreciated and important. This in turn made the work environment in the special education department more positive and provided for increased job performance. In addition to working with the special education staff she finds herself sharing articles from professional journals with her colleagues to begin the dialogue on teaching and learning in the classroom. She finds that a non-threatening way to disseminate new ideas and information enhances a collegial relationship. She has involved the community in her school through the Student Behavior Management Team as well as a well-organized community meeting. The Student Behavior Management Team involves community members to help solve issues with the school related to behavior. The insight from the community gives a different point of view and a new way to solve problems. It also allows the community to "buy in" to the school. She works to have community members know that their thoughts and ideas are welcomed and valued in the school. A community meeting was held where data was shared on discipline, attendance, extracurricular activities, and other areas where school improvement was desired. She worked to encourage the attendance of the parents and community members by advertising the meeting in a variety of mediums and by personally making telephone calls to the stakeholders. The meeting was well attended and the research is still ongoing on how the information that was gathered will be implemented. Ms. Adkins is a member of ASCD, the Council for Exceptional Children, Learning Disabilities Association and has served for three years as the Vice-President of the Association of Public School Administrators and Supervisors in Wicomico County. She is a member of the Allen Church, Moose Lodge 654, and participates in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. She attended the Model Schools Conference in Washington and was a keynote speaker at the Maryland Student Service Alliance Conference in 2001. She was honored as Maryland's 2004 Assistant Principal of the Year at the NASSP Conference in Orlando |
