Young Principals as Rock Stars

The girl tried an answer: "Because he was never in the West End?"

"He was never in the West End," Vance said, and gave her a smile. "So what was there about Mars Bar that would make him never, ever go to the West End? Soyva?"

"Because, because . . . " she said, not quite sure.

"Because what? Because on the West End of town is where all the people who were white live, and the people on the East End were what?"

Several voices answered at once: "Black!"

"And they were what?"

"Divided!"

"So it is very significant that Maniac would bring Mars Bar from the East End to the West End, to McNab's house, right?" said Vance with another smile. "Good. Any other comments? I will take two before we read some more."

Every eye was on him as he walked up on down the aisles of a very large class, nearly 30 students. They had been taught since their first summer session before fifth grade to "track" -- that is, look at -- their teachers or other students when they were speaking. The same thing happened in the schools I visited last week, including the KIPP STAR College Prep Charter School on West 123rd St. in Manhattan, the KIPP Infinity Charter School on West 133rd Street in Manhattan and the KIPP AMP Academy in Brooklyn. In each case, teachers, including principals who like Vance had their own classes, moved around their rooms. They smiled at students, showed excitement with the lesson and called on everyone in class.

And when that did not happen, Levin -- now 35 and visiting each school as superintendent of KIPP's growing New York cluster -- made a mental note and talked to the principal about how to help that teacher improve. After several minutes in one classroom, he winched when he stepped into the hall. The instructor's tone was too didactic for him and, he thought, for the students. "I hate that kind of fake teacher voice," he said. "You should be having a conversation with the kids."

Besides Vance, the principals in New York are KIPP STAR's Maggie Runyan-Shefa, 32, a George Washington University graduate with an interest in politics; KIPP AMP's Ky Adderley, 30, a former Georgetown University track star whose uncle Herb is in the NFL Hall of Fame; and KIPP Infinity's Joe Negron, 26, a Harvard graduate who would like to teach Advanced Placement chemistry at the KIPP high school Levin plans to open in 2007.

All four acknowledged they had much to learn about running a school but thought their inexperience was offset by their ability to put in the long days necessary under the KIPP system.