The end of the school year is sometimes bittersweet for educators. On one hand, summer break is right around the corner and teachers are just as excited about summer break as are students. On the other hand, the end of the school year is a time for closure. Students moving on to the next grade and colleagues & administrators retiring or moving to other schools can be a joyous, yet sad, occasion.
This year, at my school, our assistant principal and director of guidance retired. While there was excitement for their new journey, much of the last two weeks of school were filled with parties, celebrations, tears, laughs, and remembering the good times. I was blessed and honored to work with these individuals and fortunate to have the opportunity to properly say goodbye. There was closure.
Staff, students, and parents in many Prince William County Schools will return in the fall to new administrators leading their schools. The recent “administrative shuffle” conducted by central office may have been done with good intentions; however, the unintended consequences are yet to be seen. Hundreds of staff members and thousands of children DID NOT get to say goodbye to their administrators on the last day of school, as this shuffle took place in the summer. WOW! Imagine leaving on the last day of school with a great administrative team in place and returning in the fall to one or more of your administrators gone. No reason! No explanation! Is this fair?
Is this practice fair to those involved? School employees understand the unwritten rule that they do not “belong” to a school; they “belong” to the school division. I applaud our Principals and Assistant Principals for their tireless and endless workload. The pressures now placed on administrators can never be understood. Add the pressure of ending the school year at one school, receiving a phone call that you are moving to another school, losing the opportunity to officially say goodbye to your staff and students, and making the transition to another school – this last minute shuffle from central office shows a complete lack of respect for our administrators, staff, children, parents, and community.
Staff members may be sad (or happy) about this shuffle. They are afforded the opportunity to keep in touch with their administrators via emails, phone calls, or texts. Children; however, are the ones who have much to lose. There is absolutely no closure for children when administrators are moved over the summer. For many of our needy, at risk children, the adults in their building are the most important adults in their lives. Schools are an integral part of our community; staff members in those schools are almost like family.
I’m sure this school division had good reasons for this recent shuffle in administration. It’s a shame, though, that the staff, students, and parents did not get the opportunity to officially say goodbye. Could this shuffle have happened prior to the end of the school year?
Riley O’Casey is a local educator who teaches middle school social studies. She is also an active member of the Prince William County Education Association.
This column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Bristow Beat, its editors, writers or sponsors.
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