Sustainability: King Laurence Sets the Standard

King Laurence, former principal of Busbee Elementary School of Aiken County Public Schools, provides his personal account of transferring leadership after he assumed the role of Director of School and Program Effectiveness in Aiken, South Carolina.

Shortly after the beginning of our school’s third year of implementation with Modern Red SchoolHouse, I was offered and accepted a position at the school district office. It was a great opportunity but not necessarily an easy decision. As principal, I was committed to my school and its staff. I was committed to my students. And, I was committed to making a difference. I was confident that the path we were on with Modern Red SchoolHouse was a significant key to making that difference and achieving lasting success.

When I announced that I would be leaving the school one of the first questions I heard was, “What about Modern Red?” While a natural concern, I assured the faculty that Modern Red was not dependent on my being the school’s principal. One of the great qualities of MRSH is that once implemented correctly, it becomes imbedded in the school’s culture. Once the momentum has reached the critical point, new leadership isn’t likely to change it any more than a new president can change the Constitution.

The success of any initiative is dependent on sustainability. Can the idea take hold and become a dominant part of the culture, or is it just a flash in the pan? If a program or an idea is dependent on the vision of one person or a small group of people, it will probably be the latter. For true success and sustainability, everyone in the organization has to embrace it.

What happens in a Modern Red SchoolHouse school when the principal moves on to another job? If the principal has used the MRSH philosophy and process to develop capacity in the school’s faculty—nothing happens. Certainly any new principal has his or her own ideas about how the school should operate. It’s that vision that leads one to seek the principalship. But, smart new principals take stock of what is in place and evaluate both success and potential for success. Our school had a strong leadership team that had its collective finger on the pulse of everything going on. The task forces were well organized and were receiving the highest quality support from MRSH. Grade level and vertical teams were in the final stages of developing unit plans.

Over the course of six weeks, I divided my time between my school and the district office. During that transition period I had several conversations with the leadership team, encouraging them to maintain the course we had set. When the new principal was named, I reviewed the reforms we were making with him and described the MSRH philosophy. I tried not to throw everything at him at once but made sure that I was available to answer questions and help him to see where we had been and where we were going. My goal was to give him as much information as possible and get him to buy into and lead a concept that he had not initiated. At the same time, I had to refrain from becoming too zealous and appear to be trying to run a show that was no longer mine to run. I believe we pulled that off. I am confident that MRSH would have maintained momentum even if my departure had been more abrupt. However, by gradually allowing the new administration to embrace the philosophy, the transition became seamless. The new principal could not help but recognize the quality leadership structure in place and the emphasis on student achievement.

It is hard to let go of the reins and let someone else take over. There is always a concern that the work that was begun will be abandoned. But, for MRSH to be successful in a school it can’t be about personalities. People come and go so it’s critical to have everyone on board and build a solid learning community. The benefits of Modern Red SchoolHouse are too obvious to overlook. I was able to walk away confident that the vision was shared and that progress would continue. What more could I ask?

King Laurence
March 2006
Aiken , SC