With New Principal, a Renewed Sense of Energy

By Julie Rasicot
Special to the Washington Post
Thursday, October 4, 2007

Darryl Williams took over as principal of Silver Spring's Montgomery Blair High School knowing that it would be challenging to step into the job after former principal Phillip Gainous.

Gainous, who left in June after 23 years as principal to work in the school system's central office, was well liked and left an indelible mark. But three months after taking charge of the county's largest high school, Williams is beginning to make Blair his own.

Since school opened, the former Gaithersburg High School principal has begun strictly enforcing Blair's dress code, scheduled time for students to meet with advisers, increased the visibility of staff members in the hallways and begun working on ways to improve the grades of low-performing students.

Although some of the moves have ruffled a few students and parents, Williams, 41, is generally receiving high marks.

"We've seen a new energy. We've seen a new leadership," said David Ottalini, co-president of the school's PTSA, who notes that Williams has been responsive to the concerns of parents and students. "Because he was a seasoned principal, he really came in and hit the ground running. I'm amazed at the kind of energy he has."

Assistant Principal Myriam Rogers noted that the transition to Williams's leadership has been "very smooth," and students are adjusting to policy changes. Resistance to the enforcement of the dress code, in which students wearing items such as midriff and halter shirts were asked to change or put on clothing kept in the office, is melting away.

For the first couple of weeks, about 10 students each day were asked to change their clothes. But that number has dropped considerably, Rogers said. "The kids are doing well and still dressing very fashionably," she said.

Gazing down recently from the balcony on a second-floor walkway as many of the school's 2,800 students passed through the main hallway below, Williams seemed at ease with his leadership of a campus with roughly 600 more students than his former school.

It was activity-fair day, which meant the main hallway was lined with tables staffed by students from various clubs, and the school band was rocking the crowd with a percussion-filled tune.

"I love it," said Williams of the music, as his eyes roved over the students moving through the school's three levels. "It's loud and strong."

Minutes later, in his office, he outlined some of the steps he's taken and his plans for the well-regarded school, which is home to two magnet programs and five career academies.

One step was to reduce the time between classes from eight to six minutes, which has been unpopular among students. The change, which was under consideration before Williams arrived, is a result of the school's lower enrollment, the elimination of portable classrooms that were needed to serve the bigger population and Williams's desire to provide time for students to meet with counselors in "advisories."

"We were trying to put back more time in the instructional period as well as plan for advisories," he said.

Students have complained that they don't have time to get to class across the sprawling campus. Williams is working with the Student Government Association to determine whether extra time is needed.

The advisories, in which small groups of students meet with an adviser every two weeks, are a key component of Williams's goal of creating relationships between staff and students. The advisories build on the concept of the career academies, which are courses of study that are designed to break the school into smaller learning communities. In their sophomore year, students choose an academy, which is assigned its own teachers, administrators and counselor.

Williams, who joined the county schools in 1994, served as Gaithersburg's principal for two years. Previously, he served as principal of William H. Farquhar Middle School in Olney, assistant principal at Benjamin Banneker Middle School in Burtonsville and assistant principal at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring.

At Blair, he said he is working to improve communication among staff members, administrators and students. He has put his calendar online and had staff members create a master calendar that coordinates the testing calendar, activities of the school's various programs, athletics and other events.

"I came in and said, 'We've got to coordinate all this,' " he said. "I realized that not everybody realized what others are doing."

Williams said he has learned that being in charge of such a large school also required changes in his leadership style.

So he is relying more on checking in with staff in charge of the school's programs and taking time to drop by classrooms. He told his five vice principals that "we have to be more visible" and moved back an early morning instructional leadership team meeting so that staff members could be in the halls with students.

"When the bell rings, we need to be in the halls. I do realize that will consume time, but I do believe we have to be accessible," he said.

The increased presence has been noticed by students and teachers, Rogers said. "It's been very well received," she said. "I've heard so many comments about that."

Williams is not afraid to show students a lighter side. He recently rapped about how he got to Blair in a video he called "The Fresh Principal of Blair," a spoof of the theme from the 1990s TV show "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

The brief video, shown during morning announcements, has been posted on YouTube, the popular video Web site.

Williams also is trying to strengthen school pride by asking students and staff members to wear school colors on Fridays and drumming up support for Blair's sports teams. He's begun playing a song on Friday mornings, such as "Wake Up Everybody" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, to start the day with a positive message. Students also have begun offering song requests, he said.

"We want to bring back the pride," he said. "To say we're all glad to be here. We're one school with many faces."