The Goochland Gazette | News - Principals at Goochland Elementary, Randolph Elementary switch roles

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Principals at Goochland Elementary, Randolph Elementary switch roles
Published: June 30, 2010

By Amy Condra
acondra@goochlandgazette.com

The principals of Goochland Elementary School and Randolph Elementary School will be switching positions for the upcoming school year.

This decision, and how it was made, has angered parents who feel that Superintendent Linda S. Underwood and the school board did not clearly explain how the reassignment will benefit the 700 students involved.

In an interview on Monday Underwood said that Dianna Gordon, principal of GES, and Stacey Austin, principal of RES, have each been at their respective schools for about six years.

“We know that both principals are highly thought of by their communities, and we knew there would be some negative reaction,” said Underwood, adding that she has been considering the move for a long time. “But even knowing the negative reaction, we want to do the right thing.”

She believes that Gordon and Austin each possess different skills and strengths that, when brought to a new setting, will increase the productivity of both teachers and students.

“Both principals have worked with their staff to get students to their highest achievement levels,” she said. “But a different set of eyes, a different approach can help (students) take the next few steps. We’re looking at increased achievement, always.”

Elizabeth Nelson-Lyda is a member of the GCPS Community Advisory Committee. She represents many parents whose children attend GES, and she said that most of the parents she has heard from in her district are elated to be welcoming Austin as their new principal.

“My neighbors are thinking, we get Stacy Austin, we hit the jackpot!” she said. “He is a great guy, why wouldn’t we be happy?”

But she says she has heard from some RES parents who are not pleased with the change.

“They felt a punishment was being inflicted,” said Nelson-Lyda. “But what they can’t see is that this is an administrative decision that is, from what I understand, necessary to achieve a specific outcome to precipitate a specific result.”

Nelson-Lyda added that it would be helpful, though, for parents to have a greater awareness of why the switch is taking place.

“What would be nice is to elicit from Underwood, if this is a decision made with a specific outcome in mind,” she said, “a greater understanding of what that specific outcome is so that we can know the gains RES and GES will get from this move.”

Not being told what those gains could be is frustrating to Jane Christie, whose youngest child will be attending RES in the fall.

“This affects everybody,” said Christie. “No matter how good these principals are, there was time spent building relationships with the community, students, parents and teachers.”

“There is bound to be a pain of adjustment and right now we don’t need that disruption,” she added, alluding to a difficult budget season that has only recently concluded. “What is the benefit of that disruption at this point in time?”

Parents who have had children in the GCPS center-based gifted center, a center that will be closed next year due to budget cuts, are frustrated that they had been encouraged to discuss plans for students who are transitioning to their home elementary schools with their children’s principals.

Now many of those parents are wondering if their opinions will still carry any weight with a new school administration.

“That point is well taken,” said Nelson-Lyda. “From parents, I heard this was contrary to being told to go back to their home principal, and that was a primary issue.”

“What concerns me is that we have lost 26 teachers, and have kids coming back from the (center-based) gifted program, and there is no plan yet,” said Christie. “And add to that the difficulty of having a new principal, who doesn’t know these teachers and students.”

Beth Hardy, who, like Nelson-Lyda, is a member of the Community Advisory Committee, wrote in an e-mail Monday, sent to an undisclosed list of Goochland residents, that she has been contacted by about 40 people who are dissatisfied with the reassignment of RES and GES principals.

A petition and a letter-writing campaign are underway, she wrote, to communicate dissatisfaction with the decision made by Underwood and the school board.

Christie says that she and other parents are also unhappy that the change was made without advance notice to parents.

A notice of the reassignments was not included in the original agenda packet and was not publicly read at the workshop meeting, she noted.

“No one at the meeting had any idea that it happened,” said Christie.

Underwood says that she did not want to release the information until she had a chance to speak with the principals involved.

“We were right down to the wire with the meeting,” she said. “I wanted to talk to Gordon and Austin as soon as school was out, but unfortunately each of them took off for a week.

The first time we could get together was the Tuesday of the meeting.”

Each principal has a relative who will also be affected by the change: Austin’s wife will be transferred from GES to RES, and Gordon’s daughter-in-law will be moved from RES to GES.

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