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Hillsborough principal credits staff leadership, COVID-era feeding effort for school—s culture and recent grade upgrade
Summary
A Hillsborough County principal told meeting attendees that a culture of mutual respect and staff-led initiatives helped move his middle school from a B to an A and enabled the school to operate as a community feeding station during the COVID-19 closure. He urged teachers to learn building operations and seek leadership opportunities.
An unidentified Hillsborough County principal described how staff leadership and community-focused responses helped shape his middle school's culture and academic progress.
"I have the best job in Hillsborough County being a principal," the principal said, crediting teachers and staff for creating a respectful campus and for coordinated efforts that raised the school's grade from a B to an A.
He said the school's progress reflects sustained staff work. "When we found out we were an A this year and the hard work that the staff put in last year to move us from that B to an A," the principal said, describing the grade change as evidence of the staff—s commitment.
The principal also recounted the school's role during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the building served as a feeding station. He said staff prepared by taking materials home before a break and then organized a volunteer rotation to run the site, which distributed food "twice a day." "They took their books, they took their computers or laptops. And then we found out we were during that break, right, 1 week long, we were gonna be a feeding station or a site as well where where families could come through and get food, twice a day," he said.
The speech emphasized that practical knowledge of school operations supports instruction. "Learn about the cafeteria staff. Learn how, maintenance requests are put in. Learn how the building functions. Learn how the air conditioning system works, learn where the water shut off, the gas shut off, all that stuff that could affect curriculum," the principal said, arguing that without air conditioning "learning's not going on."
He encouraged teachers to seek mentorship and hands-on opportunities within their schools, noting he had similar opportunities at Dalbell Middle School where colleagues, including Mr. Lawson and Bobby Stingoni, gave him chances to attend meetings and take on responsibilities.
The principal closed by reiterating his enjoyment of working with students and staff and expressing optimism for the school year ahead. "We hope we have a great year, and I'm sure we will," he said.
