Assistant Principal of the Year Finalists

Jacqueline W. Townes
Northwoods Elementary
Lucelia Selden
West Millbrook Middle
Laura Evans
East Wake High School
Vivian Wells
Underwood Gifted and Talented Elementary

Jacqueline W. Townes
Assistant Principal, Northwoods Elementary

Even as a child, Jacequline Townes always knew that she wanted to become a school administrator. "My cousins and I played school often, and while many argued over who would be the teacher, I wanted to be the principal," she said.

Townes said her drive to become an administrator stemmed from her desire to help teachers become better teachers by providing them with the support that they need. "I wanted to help teachers teach," she said. "School administration's chief appeal is the challenge of fostering, mentoring and balancing very important relationships for a school's success. Aware of the challenges my co-workers face daily, I truly enjoy providing them with the support and assistance I can offer as we work as a team to provide the best we can for our students."

Townes' dream of becoming an administrator came true in 1986 when she was named assistant principal at Northwoods Elementary. As assistant principal at Northwoods, Townes works to develop meaningful relationships with her staff, students and parents. "I work very hard daily to develop and maintain these three relationships," she said. "I feel it is crucial to any school's success."

Along with building relationships, Townes also works hard to boost student achievement at Northwoods by helping to develop and revamp programs such as the Koalaty Kids Program and FLASH (Focused Language Arts Skills Hour), a program that focuses on Language Arts for one hour on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and utilizes the support of non-classroom personnel. Townes also builds support for the school's programs by working with community members and parents who volunteer in the school each day and even participates in many of the programs herself. "I especially enjoy the Book-and-a-Bite program," she said. "This program gives me the opportunity to read and share literary works with small groups of students at lunchtime. The students and I find a quiet area to read, eat and have interesting discussions."

Helen Willard, a speech-language pathologist at Northwoods, said Townes' ability to establish trust-based relationships produces genuine and sustained participation by those under her charge. "She thinks of the needs of the Northwoods team as 'we' rather than 'I'," she said. "As a 'we' leader, she generates cohesiveness among the team members and this generates high morale. Her task as a leader at Northwoods is to increase the quality of the school environment and to inspire the members of her team to serve. She accomplishes this task by her ability to create opportunities for parents, students and teachers to be effective members of the team."

Prior to becoming assistant principal, Townes was a teacher for eight years at several schools in Virginia and at Northwoods Elementary.

Lucelia Selden
Assistant Principal, West Millbrook Middle

As an assistant principal at West Millbrook Middle, Lucelia Selden believes successful administration involves providing the best possible environment for teachers to teach and students to learn. "Teachers need to have access to the tools and knowledge that will make them effective and efficient," she said. "Students should have an orderly climate, which is safe and supports their learning. It is the administration's job to guide, coach, encourage and support to make this vision possible."

Selden, who was named assistant principal in 1996 after teaching in the system for more than 18 years, said she believes that every student, staff member, community volunteer and parent should feel that they have a positive relationship with the school. "Whether the relationship is that of an informed parent, community volunteer or a student, a good relationship is the foundation for success at school," she said.

In an effort to improve community relations at the school, Selden led the implementation of the school's technology plan and implemented "Technology Tuesdays" to train the staff. Thanks to her foresight, every teacher at West Millbrook has their own laptop computer and West Millbrook has an award-winning web site, which is a resource for parents, students and faculty. Each teacher is responsible for creating and maintaining his/her own web page and is encouraged to use e-mail to communicate with parents and students. Selden also works to bring the community into the school and establish relationships between the classroom and the workplace by coordinating events such as the School-to-Career and Job Shadowing programs.

As assistant principal, Selden said she realizes the importance of building relationships with the students, at the school. She said some students need more support than others. "This is where, as an administrator, I can make a difference," she said. "Each Wednesday afternoon, I meet with a group of seventh-grade girls who lack one or more elements to be successful at school. We get together and work on homework, use the computers, meet with teachers, set goals and often attend a school event at the end of the day. I often drive them home in order to have the opportunity to talk with their parents." Selden also believes that the sixth-graders need more nurturing and attention as they enter middle school, so she created a master schedule that allows the sixth-grade classrooms to average no more than 20-22 students and provides blocks of time for teaching of interdisciplinary units.

Principal Kaye Evans said of Selden, "She accepts responsibility squarely and always goes that 'extra inch' with the good of the students and the school in mind. If our school enjoys a reputation for an enthusiasm for technology and a positive, inclusive spirit for our special programs students, it is due, in large part, to the efforts of this genteel lady."

Selden began her career with WCPSS as a teacher at Broughton and Sanderson high schools in 1968-69. She then taught at Daniels Middle and West Millbrook Middle from 1977-96.

Laura Evans
Assistant Principal, East Wake High School

As assistant principal at East Wake High School, Laura Evans said the role she has played in the growth of student achievement at the school is the part of her job that she loves the most and is most proud of. "The true measure of success, of course, is results with students - and our results have been strong," she said.

Evans, who became assistant principal in 1998 after teaching for nearly 20 years, has played a big part in the school's success. She has the responsibility for interviewing and recommending employment for staff. In an effort to make sure all students have a qualified teacher, she has employed a superb group of educators who share the school's philosophy of success for all. "I believe in the educability of all children, and that we have a moral obligation to serve all equitably," she said. "Leaders must help decision-makers and funding authorities and parents and teachers understand the necessity of effectively teaching all children. The best leaders find ways to help all believe that it can be done. I strive to be a leader in this regard."

As assistant principal, Evans is directly involved with all facets of planning, implementing, evaluating and refining programs focused on producing better results by teaching the curriculum, expanding participation in higher-level courses and structuring enrichment and remediation for students who need extra help. "Recognizing that we have more students with greater academic needs than some schools, we provide a wide variety of programs to support and enrich the learning of these students," she said.

Evans also works with local community leaders, the PTA, the faith community and the Business Alliance to find creative and positive ways to involve parents and other citizens in school beyond the normal parent support groups associated with high school. " People want schools to instill good character; to help young people build habits of citizenship and service; to value diversity; and to encourage them to believe in the future. Leaders must help teachers find ways to achieve these goals while keeping focused on the measurable cognitive outcomes for which we are officially accountable."

Principal David Martin said the sum total of Evans' work as assistant principal is superb. "The contribution which she makes to success at East Wake High School each day is beyond measure," he said. "Students appreciate her helpful outlook and pleasant demeanor; faculty appreciate her skill, professionalism, and can-do attitude; everyone appreciates her ready smile and absolute commitment to excellence. I depend upon her honesty and unfaltering willingness to go the extra mile on behalf of our school."

Evans began her educational career in 1979 as a math, science and social studies teacher in Georgia. Over the next 20 years she continued to teach math at several schools in Texas, at Durham High and at East Wake High before being named assistant principal.

Vivian Wells
Assistant Principal, Underwood Gifted and Talented Elementary

Vivian Wells, assistant principal at Underwood Gifted and Talented Elementary, said she became interested in administration because she wanted a new challenge. "I have always been a person who enjoyed learning. I take risks, accept challenges and basically look at life as an adventure," she said. "My job as assistant principal appeals to me precisely because it is challenging. It is basically an adventure full of new experiences everyday, and it is one that demands I stretch my knowledge and abilities and take calculated risks on a regular basis."

One challenge that Wells sees for educators is providing students a school culture in which care, communication and intellectual curiosity thrive. "Because students learn best when they feel valued and capable, teachers must respect and understand their students' perspectives," she said. "If teachers focus on making certain that students learn content and develop skills without considering how students feel, some students will not learn much."

Wells said the Character Education Program she helped to implement is one way to help children achieve success. Each Friday, Wells presents Character Kid awards to those students who have been nominated for exhibiting good character during the week. "Lifelong success is positively linked to discipline and character," she said. "Children who make good choices in regards to their relationships at school and their behaviors are known to be better learners. I believe it is my job as a school administrator to positively influence children where they spend most of their time - the campuses of America."

Prior to becoming assistant principal at Underwood, Wells was assistant principal at Joyner Elementary where she worked to provide diverse course offerings such as classes in visual arts, PE, cooking, video and technology, drama, and foreign studies. "Teaching the standard course of study and meeting state requirements are important and necessary for our students, but I think we contribute to achievement levels, individual growth and development and personal skills when we offer students a variety of learning experiences," she said.

Charles Baker, a parent of a student at Joyner, said Wells' program of electives successfully held the interest of children at the school and challenged them to be creative. "I can speak from personal experience that my own child certainly benefited from a variety of creatively designed courses which were intellectually, aesthetically and physically stimulating," he said.

Wells first began working with the school system in 1974 as a visual arts teacher. Over the years, she has also worked as an art consultant for the schools, taught school in England as a Fulbright Award winner, served as a visual arts consultant and teacher at Wake Forest Elementary and served as assistant principal at Wake Forest Elementary, Joyner Elementary and Underwood Elementary.