Principal of the Year Del Burns Is at Home at Millbrook High
November 3, 1999--Wake County Principal of the Year Del Burns is where he wants to be: Millbrook High School where he began his high school teaching career and now oversees a school of 1,700 students.
"He doesn't put up with any nonsense. He is organized. He is sharp. I have never seen the man stop and take a break. He is on 100 percent of the day," said Carley Bowman who has taught English at Millbrook for 14 years. "In the mornings, he is here before anyone. He goes and greets every teacher in his or her classroom before school begins, every day."
 Dr. Burns talks with Assistant Principal Gwen Macon-Belmont during a student assembly. |
"I think communicating is the most important thing that I do. And it's one of those things that no matter how much you do, it's never enough," said Burns. "It's necessary to be involved, very visible and accessible to the community, to parents, teachers and kids. I need to be available and I need to articulate to them the mission of the school, the goals we are trying to achieve and tell them about what is going on in the building, so they feel informed."
As Burns leaves his office and walks down the hall, he's stopped by an assistant principal.
They talk and then he's off again, greeting teachers and students.
"Great teachers are able to communicate with kids, are able to help them understand and to allow them to discover and to grow and to use the knowledge that the teacher has in a way that the kids gain the same knowledge. That's hard to do," Burns said. "It takes a person who cares about kids tremendously. Teachers today have to deal with things that we never even thought about when I started teaching, in terms of the issues that kids bring and in terms of the issues that the school requires. To be a teacher and to be focused on instruction takes incredible dedication and incredible skill and a whole lot of hard work. It's not an easy job."
In the school's gym, hundreds of students fill the stands and listen to Chuck Davis who has brought his African-American Dance Ensemble's musicians and dancers to teach students about West African music and culture. Burns praises Davis and the way he weaves dialogue, music, and dance to hold everyone's attention. As Davis calls for teacher and student volunteers, Burns looks around the gym, watching the students and their response.
"It's an overused cliche but kids don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. If a kid knows and believes that you care about them, they're going to trust you and allow you to help them learn," Burns said. "Our job is to provide the spark to get them going. Once that spark is there, you have to take care of it and nurture it and grow it from that point. It's a difficult job but when kids learn, I don't know of a better feeling."
Millbrook High is a large school with a tight geographical boundary. It opened on Spring Forest Road in 1967. It is a school with a strong sense of family, community and tradition.
"I really think it is the attitude of the teachers and the community that makes this a strong school family. The kids in the Millbrook district have grown up here and this is definitely their school," Burns said. "On weekends, it is not unusual to have a thousand people here at Pop Warner football games, North Wake Baseball games and other events. This is a real community school with a strong sense of family."
Every Monday through Thursday night, 800 to 1,000 people take part in community schools programs. Its another way the school serves its community.
According to Burns, his job's title of "principal," is a shortened version of "principal teacher," a title he prefers. "The operation and management aspects of this job are great and they can take a lot of your time," he said. "It's difficult to stay focused on instruction, but that really is the job: to look at the mission of the school and to maintain the instructional climate and provide resources for instruction so that teachers can teach and kids can learn every day."
A painting and a bowl are among the decorations in Burns' office. In the painting, a sailboat with a bright red-and-white-striped sail glides gracefully across calm waters. He tries to make his way to the beach for sailing, when he is able to make the time. The beach is a place he and his family enjoy. The bowl sits on his desk and is filled with lentils. He dips his hand in the bowl and lets lentils pour back into the bowl, as he talks about it.
"Jonibel Willis brought me a package to help me get started my first day as a new principal. Inside the package was this bowl and some lentils," Burns said. "It's a stress release technique. I've kept the bowl and kept it filled with lentils for years now."
Willis is currently one of Wake County's area assistant superintendents. At the time Burns first became a principal, she was principal of Northwoods Elementary and served as his mentor, as did Broughton High Principal Diane Payne. Another educator who had an impact on Burns' career was Tony Mallette, principal of Washington Sixth Grade Center, when Burns was a student teacher.
"He talked to me about being an educator and during the course of my student teaching shared with me a lot about what he did and cultivated my interest in being an administrator at some point in my career," Burns said.
He began his career in 1976 as a special education teacher at Root Elementary. From there, he moved to Millbrook High as a teacher. His administrative background includes experience as a Special Programs Supervisor, Assistant Principal of Enloe High, Principal of Washington Elementary, Principal at East Wake High, and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for Pitt County Schools. Burns returned to Wake County in 1997 to lead Millbrook High.
Burns was honored as Wake County Principal of the Year in ceremonies held Oct. 13th.