BACKGROUND
CHRIS
TOY
Principal
Freeport Middle School
Freeport, ME
Hi, My name is Chris Toy and I am looking forward to serving as this year's middle school principal diarist for MiddleWeb. I've been part of the MiddleWeb listserv for a few months now and have enjoyed reading the various conversations throughout the past school year.
What's even better about participating in a daily on-line conversation about the middle grades is that I have been able to do more self-reflection. Taking the time to sit quietly and read the words, descriptions, opinions, and thoughts of middle level educators has given me a way of examining my own thinking and feelings about my place in the school and how I relate to teachers, students, parents, and the school committee. I hope to carry that reflection over into this on-line diary. About Freeport Middle Some background on Freeport Middle School. The town of Freeport, home of LL Bean and a few other retail businesses is, by New England standards, a small town. There are about 6000 people living here on the midcoast region of Maine. The school system has about 1300 students. The middle school has grades 6-8 with around 320 students. We are organized by grade level teams. The 6th grade has two teams of three teachers while the 7th and 8th grade teams have five teachers each. Each team has its own special education teacher and a full educational technician, or teacher assistant. Freeport's greatest diversity is economic. We have 20% of our students on free or reduced lunch/breakfast. The city of Portland, the largest city in Maine, is within 30 minutes commuting distance. Bowdoin College is in Brunswick, the next town north of us. Beyond that is Bath Iron Works, one of the largest shipbuilding facilities in the Northeast. The value of coastal properties, seasonal and year round, runs up into several millions of dollars per site -- while on the landside of town there are seasonal laborers and chronically un- and under-employed workers. Freeport Middle School was designed to be a middle school when it was built in 1987. The historians on staff tell me that the transition to middle level philosophy and practices began at the old junior high and were implemented with the move to the new building. This summer I had to give a "state of the school" report to the school committee (not unlike a school board), so I put together a kind of resume of the school. We have a sizable list of accomplishments by our staff. Among our schoolwide distinctions are designation as a State of Maine Star School for consecutive years of outstanding and improving scores on the MEA state accountability tests; and nomination as a Maine Blue Ribbon finalist for the USED recognition program. We,ve also been recognized three times as an exemplary Title One Program School by the Maine Department of Education. (Here's some additional background about Freeport Middle School.) A year full of challenge and opportunity My goal in serving as a diarist this year is to make some time for reflection as to what I do, why I do things, and how those things relate to the the school's mission, and my own. I hope readers of my diary will take advantage of the opportunity to communicate directly with me. I'd love to hear your perspectives on leadership and the role of the principal in effective middle schools. This coming school year promises to be filled with plenty of changes, challenges, and opportunities. After ten years as Freeport's middle school principal I feel the need to step back and take a look at what's been happening in my building and my role as the school's leader. One ongoing challenge is the issue of how our school can do a better job of communicating with the public about middle level education. It seems we are so busy doing the work of meeting the needs of students, the state learning standards, and the organizational pieces of day-to-day operations that the public is unaware of what is going on at the middle school. I sense some uneasiness in the community and the school board as to what the middle school is about. Because of the challenges faced by students, parents, and the school in dealing with the changes during adolescence, I think there is concern about whether our middle school is doing the best it can do for its students. I want to be sure that we are, in fact, doing what is best. I sometimes ask myself, "Does the emperor have any clothes?" This past spring the superintendent's office contracted with the University of Maine to do a communitywide survey of the schools. The results have not come in yet. I'm very interested in what the community will have to say about us. Balancing academics and support Another issue I need to look at is the relationship and balance between academic rigor, and meeting the developmental needs of our students. I think this translates to improving the overall quality of teaching and learning in the building. How do our programs and practices square with what is known about middle level students and their needs? I feel the need to get into classrooms more and to have more meaningful discussions with my teachers about how they engage, challenge, and stretch students academically. I also want to make sure that they also are nurturing, supportive, and mindful of students' emotional and social needs. These two issues need to be addressed in the context of an ongoing school expansion and renovation project. We'll have heavy equipment and hardhat zones mixed in with our library books and cafeteria tables. I'll have to keep an eye out for signs of stress among staff, students, and parents as we shift things around to accommodate construction. I'll also need to keep us focused on our mission. I think focusing on our mission and keeping in mind that everyone will need to deal with disruptions in their own style will be important. Wiring up all our 7th and 8th graders There are two very important statewide initiatives that will affect not only our school, but every middle school in Maine this year. One is known as the Maine Technology Endowment. The idea is to use income from an endowment to provide all seventh and eighth graders with individual portable, wireless internet access in the next two or three years and into the future. My technology coordinator, John Lunt, and I have been involved in the concept since its inception during last year's legislative session. It's a huge opportunity to transform teaching and learning, or will it be just another failed experiment? What we do in the next few months around leadership and vision for all middle level principals and teachers in Maine will make the difference. After that we have a year of teaching our teachers how to incorporate a technology rich environment into best teaching practices. Another initiative that will have some of my attention is the Maine Middle Level Commission. This group has been convened by the Maine Commissioner of Education to study and report on the progress of middle level education in the state since the last comprehensive report in June 1988. I was on the staff of the Department of Education, on leave from my school district, at the time of that report.This year, as all years, will be busy with the predictable and the unpredictable. What I hope will be different is that I will be able to take the time to reflect on what is unfolding each day. I would like to believe this will enable me to focus my time and resources more effectively.
