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Posted By: call it a spade Posted On: May 14, 2008 Views: 148	LA principal The real story has been well known for some time. You have MAYBE 3 or 4 board members who really have the students best interests at heart. The others are for helping their friends and preventing stuff from happening because they don't like somebody. Grudges have no place on the school board but they do exist and probably always will. That is where you need a superintindent to step up and do what's right instead of giving in to pressure.
Posted By: concerned for the students Posted On: May 14, 2008 Views: 155	LA Principal It appears it isn't important what the principal qualifications are because I don't believe Mr. Gilpatrick is ever going to hire one. LA may be the only school in the state that won't have a principal for 2008-2009.
Posted By: TRAT Posted On: May 13, 2008 Views: 204	Student comment I have to agree with you. Do we have to continue to vote and do as our daddy did? That always seems to be the argument for the future here. I hope enough of our youth learn to think for themselves and break that mold. I will believe that when I see it.
Posted By: Student Posted On: May 12, 2008 Views: 152	Why Worry From a student's view: We have one of the worse school systems in the state. Why get bent out of shape over nothing? The bone heads in this county will settle for second best...or third best....or even fourth best. Let the old leadership remaind in place and nothing will change. Go Hog Eye Can wait until I can vote!!!
Posted By: concerned for the students Posted On: May 9, 2008 Views: 295	re: ruse Ruse, I can't disagree with you either. My guess would be Hankins was a man the director had known for years and he was doing an "ole buddy" a favor. Your "more to the story" is dead on i'd say. the director is not always "straight up" from the stories i'm told.
Posted By: ruse Posted On: May 9, 2008 Views: 266	the Principal "Concerned for the students", this is not completely directed at you, but I have heard about the background checks or lack there of. I personally know a man hired into maintenance, at a school here in the county who has lived here in Overton County all of his life and now lives less than two(2) miles from where he grew up and the county hires him, but not after a background check that took six(6) weeks! I am not "in the loop" but I find it very, very hard to believe that a background check was not performed to fill a position as important as the principal to our only high school in the county. Especially for someone who is not from here. I think there is more to the story! Good Luck to the new pricipal, I am sure it is a tough job.
Posted By: concerned for the students Posted On: May 9, 2008 Views: 256	re: hope You are someone who is really in the know. Very good post.
Posted By: hope Posted On: May 9, 2008 Views: 140	taking credit If everything goes well he will take all the credit, but if someone fusses, he will say that it was who everyone else wanted. And he had no choice.
Posted By: concerned for the students Posted On: May 8, 2008 Views: 151	principal at la LA needs a smart but discipline minded person. The Hankins debacle still looms over Livingston Academy. Main culprit in that was none other than director gilpatrick. the board maybe should have been a little more observing of what was going on but gilpatrick screwed up. scary thought is he's going to be in charge of this hire as well. maybe he will do a better job on his background checks this time. i'm sure any out of town applicant(if there is any) is dead in the water so that leaves local people. i'm not sure who even applied. hopefully the Director brings a little better person than hankins in. our children's future could depend on it.
Posted By: TRAT Posted On: May 7, 2008 Views: 215	Principal Qualifications He or she needs to have management skills. They are more a manager than a teacher while still understanding the view from the teachers prospective. A HS Principal is a very important job and deserves the full support of the parents and school board. Advice to who ever gets it would be focus on those who run the show day to day. Make counselors mentor students beginning the 2nd semester of their freshman year through to graduation helping students determine where they want to be in 4 years in the mean time making it happen. Not all students are destine to go to college. Prepare alternative education opportunities for students not wanting or are unable to make the college cut can mean the difference of success or failure. If critical steps are not taken not then it doesn't matter who is chosen as principle. The ship will only bob around until it hits somewhere on the other shore and by then you have missed the opportunity to educate our young people.
Posted By: county resident Posted On: May 7, 2008 Views: 219	New Principal Haven't we had this topic before? I think the new principal should have all the state requires and more than required would be even better.