Participant Eleven spent the 2015–2016 academic year enrolled in the MILE program. As a principal, she oversees a total of 220 children in two schools within the same district, and neither school has an assistant principal. She enjoyed the monthly large group meetings for the camaraderie and the networking experience with other mentees.
She arranged to observe another mentee’s school so she could continue to learn and grow. The other mentee is the principal of a high school. Since Participant Eleven is a principal at a primary school, she found the experience interesting because she realized the high school students are still students: They are older versions of the children in her building. She said, “It was good to see that our work was not so far from each other” (Participant Eleven, personal communication, March 10, 2017). During the large group meetings, she found value in hearing the “perspectives of other new principals, just sharing those common experiences and also hearing remedy for troubles and/or conflicts that may arise in your first two years” (Participant Eleven, personal communication,
Page 106 March 10, 2017). She said networking and seeing a “veteran doing the job” (Participant Eleven, personal communication, March 10, 2017) would have benefited her. Although, in about 10 years Participant Eleven hopes to be running her own private preschool.
Her mentor had experience in early childhood education.
I was able to have that conversation with her and [talk about] some of my concerns, because working with Pre-K, in kindergarten, first grade, it’s really about family. It’s not just about a child; it’s about meeting the needs of a family. So she was able to understand that and shared her experiences with me; [she] encouraged me to be brave in some aspects and challenged my decisions in others. So I appreciated that. (Participant Eleven, personal communication, March 10, 2017)
Participant Eleven asked her mentor to stay with her for an extra year during the 2016–2017 academic year so that her mentor could help implement a project they worked on together during the first year. During the first year of mentoring, the pair met
approximately three times a month. Two of those times were on campus, and the third time was during lunch off campus so they could speak freely about issues and challenges. Her mentor supported her by offering her time and by helping with projects, such as during the Christmas season, when every child in Participant Eleven’s buildings receives a Christmas present from a nonprofit organization; the mentor helped wrap and prepare the gifts.
One of Participant Eleven’s goals was to have her mentor help her focus on what is best for the students. The participant had found that addressing staff concerns pulled her away from focusing on students. Some of the staff concerns included hurt feelings
Page 107 and office politics that occurred before Participant Eleven became principal. Another concern that kept her from focusing on students was the playground. During the program, an auditor told her the playground was unsafe without a fence. She proceeded to take steps to build a new playground with a gated fence, and her mentor supported her along the way. She says the following about her mentor:
They never told me what to do; they just kind of asked me questions to support me and say, “Well, did you do this? Have you done that? Have you considered this? Or have you considered that?” So they kind of just navigated me that way. (Participant Eleven, personal communication, March 10, 2017)
However, while working on getting the gate installed around the playground, Participant Eleven experienced sexism in the workplace. A man who was giving an estimate on the gate called her a kid, and then when he realized she was the principal, asked her out on a date. She refused and let him know the school would no longer need his services as an estimator.
Time away from the school building was the least beneficial part of the program, but she admitted it is not a concern for her because the experience was overwhelmingly positive. She noted that the monthly large group meetings took place between 8:00 and 9:30 in the morning and recommended starting at 8:30 in the morning instead.
Work and life clashed more in the past year because she got married. But at work, her chief outcome is to be more focused on the students and less distracted by other concerns. For example, she understands when staff members call in sick to take care of their younger children but recognized this excuse may be overused and abused, which affects teachers’ professional lives and, ultimately, the students.
Page 108 In a word, Participant Eleven defines success as growth (personal communication, March 10, 2017). She also referred to sustaining relationships with people and trying new things to achieve success.
In summary, Participant Eleven had several mentors, informal and formal, through her district as well as the MILE program. She found all parts of the program beneficial and thought perhaps shadowing or observing more tenured principals would be a helpful element. However, her experience is marked by ageism and gender
discrimination, as shown through the story of the gate estimator.