Principal for a Day - edfound.net

Principal for a Day

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Debrief breakfasts on Friday, December 2

Principal for a Day is a special annual event for business and civic executives. The event is a collaborative effort of the Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester Two and Four school districts together with The Education Foundation and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. The goal of this event is to bring together the best talent from businesses and schools for mutual benefit. Sponsoring Principal for the Day will show that your business supports public education and wants to become engaged with the schools.

Highlights:

Business executives spend the day with the principal of one of the region’s public schools where they have the opportunity to walk the walk with a principal and learn first hand about the realities of leading a public school.
The event began in 2004 and has become one of the region's most talked about events for business executives.

Comments from Principal for a Day participants:

“It was a great opportunity for me to share the similarities of my role as a Human Resources Director with the Principal. Partnerships between public education and business are a win/win strategy of preparing today's student for tomorrow's workforce.”

“I highly recommend to my fellow business professionals that they find a way to participate in this program. It's worth the time.”

Apply to participate in Principal for a Day 2011

Principal for the Day 2010: A Tremendous Success

On Thursday, December 2, over 140 members of the region’s business community took the day off from work. That is, they took the day off from their regular jobs, but as participants in The Education Foundation’s seventh annual Principal for the Day, they certainly didn’t rest from work!

Individuals from a wide array of small and large industries and businesses in the Trident region shadowed the principals of nearly all the public schools in the Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester County School Districts. The principals did not plan a special day for their executive guests but rather engaged them in the actual day-to-day demands and responsibilities of an elementary, middle, or high school leader. Participants got to see principals in action making decisions, greeting students, responding to urgent requests, doing teacher evaluations, meeting with students and parents, and modeling school standards throughout the day. Some business partners were first-time participants while others have grown to love Principal for the Day so much they participate year after year.

Following their day in a principal’s footsteps, the business partners convened the next morning for debrief breakfasts to share their experiences. The breakfasts are hosted in each county and are a much-loved component of Principal for a Day. The business community’s first-hand experience of the principals’ hard work and commitment to excellence had conversation buzzing at the three breakfast sites.

Some comments made at the breakfasts:

“I was amazed by the many hats the principal wears. He is an administrator, yes, but also a counselor, a coach, a cheerleader, a teacher, a groundskeeper, a friend, a visionary, an advocate, and more.”

“I sat in on a school budget meeting and I cannot believe they are doing so much on so little. I commend their dedication to their students’ success; I can see that the quality of education is not being sacrificed.”

“I don’t know how they do it; I could hardly keep up with my principal! She is constantly being pulled in so many different directions and yet she makes the time to greet and interact with students from the moment they arrive in the morning until they get on their buses to go home.”

“I was so impressed with the principal’s effort to communicate with parents and to be available to them throughout the school day.”

“I felt right at home when I arrived and saw the school was having ‘Nerd Day’!”

“Principal for the Day is really not a one-time event. It’s an opportunity for me to partner with this principal so that I am helping him to graduate students that are ready and qualified to be employed at my company or any company in this area.”

Principal for the Day is designed to bridge the gap between schools and businesses and to help create lasting relationships. Whether this includes specific resources and opportunities, or the commitment of the business community to help educate students to create a stronger workforce, all partnerships are valuable.

Many thanks to the business partners, principals, and sponsors who made Principal for the Day 2010 a tremendous success!.

Principal for a Day Education Foundation Charleston SC