CHAPTER 1
September
1
Awakening the Leader Within
At 6:50 a.m. on a brisk, sunny September morning, Hannah Gardnerpulls into the middle school parking lot and parks her Ford SUVhybrid in the spot marked "Principal." She feels her heart jump withexcitement, as first-day-of-school memories flash through her mind.
She pulls out her briefcase from the back seat and gathers two vasesof fresh flowers and straightens her well-tailored navy blue suit. Asshe closes the car door, she catches sight of the first teacher rolling in.Looks like Ms. Joyner, thinks Hannah, raising her hand to say, "hi." Atthat moment Hannah's air of excitement turns to an unsettled feelingof doubt, questioning her own efficacy, despite the wave back from hermusic teacher. Taking a deep breath, Hannah ignores her opening dayjitters and heads toward the Main Office.
It is one hour and fifteen minutes prior to the start of school. Hannahinserts the office key to unlock the main doors. Darci, her main officesecretary, is not expected for another twenty minutes. Hannah finds hersecond key, and, as she opens the door to her private office, she takesa moment to gaze at her workplace. The room glows with the sun'srays on the attractive décor, accenting her well-organized bookshelves,pictures of former students, and other school memorabilia. She valuesthe transformation from the starkness of three weeks ago when she wasfirst hired and introduced to the sterile environment, compared to now,a warm inviting atmosphere.
Hannah sets her briefcase and the vases on her desk and sits down fora moment to contemplate. Appreciating the smell of the fresh flowers, awave of sweetness settles her. Start with what you know, as her thoughtswander back as to why she accepted this position in the first place. Sheopens her briefcase and reviews her to do list. "Let's see, review morningannouncements with the secretary, make sure all faculty have studenthandbooks, meet the buses at 8:30 a.m., and cabinet meeting with thesuperintendent at 10:30 a.m. Well, that should get me to the lunchhour," Hannah says out loud, laughing at her over-zealousness.
Hannah picks up one of the flowering vases and sets it on hersecretary's desk. Down the hall she hears Frank Amber, the belovedcustodian, known for his high ethics, whistling, "When the Saints GoMarching In," as he pushes his broom from side to side. The friendlytune draws her to the door and she greets the lean custodian with,"Nice music, Frank."
Dressed in a crisp white shirt, grey pants, and shined shoes, his eyessparkle as he nods to Hannah and continues whistling.
The serenity of the melodic sound is shattered when the main door isthrown open, slamming into the side of the building. Darci Caldwell,the principal's secretary and known for her curtness, mumbles toherself, complaining about the lines in the parking lot. "Who the heckchanged the parking spots? Mine isn't where it's supposed to be!"
As soon as Darci gets to her desk, the phone starts ringing. Grumblingto herself, she puts her designer bag down, pushes aside the flower vase,and grabs the phone, chipping a nail. "Summitville Middle School,good morning!" Darci barks, looking down at her French manicure."Yes, uh--huh, no. No, that's not the way things are done around here.There is no school lunch credit. Your child will have to go withoutlunch today. That's right!" she commands, as she hangs up the phone.
Overhearing her secretary's abrasive words, Hannah instantly knowsthat her day is not going to be driven only by her organized to do list.
2
McCloud Over Summitville
In her interview with the superintendent, Hannah has learnedthat Mr. Gerald McCloud has been superintendent for the SummitvilleCentral School District for the past 12 years. He had been a physicaleducation teacher, a winning coach, and a mainstay in Summitville,entwined in local politics for the last thirty-two years. It is commonlyknown that he and his board run the town. Although sometimes theiractions are less than admirable and can often be construed as downrighttrickery, few members of the town have ever confronted him andhis board in public.
When Hannah gets to the district office at 10:25 a.m., she passes byCoach Tom Riley dressed in his uniform of sweats, sneakers, and hisold lettered jacket rushing out of the superintendent's office. She findsMr. McCloud on the phone in an active conversation, twisting his highschool class ring on his finger.
A belly laugh cuts through the air. "Ha-ha, that's right, Judge.None of our buses can make it down your private road. Besides, Iwouldn't want to have any of our buses shot at, just in case you weredowning that imported liquor I got you last Christmas and thought itwas a big moose!" The belly laugh is echoed around the room.
The superintendent's hand, adorned by a gold watch, motionsHannah into the room. She looks around the superintendent'swooden conference table and sees the other principals and the businessadministrator already seated near their boss. Taking the last seat in theroom, she quickly surmises that she is late, even though she is on timefor the 10:30 a.m. meeting and learns her first unwritten rule: Get tothe meeting early to get a premier seat.
Once off the phone, the superintendent relaxes and says, "Gentlemen,oh, ah, excuse me, and lady, as you know, our newly-elected boardmet last night and gave me the following targets." He passes out thetwo-page document to each administrator. "We're all here today toimplement these goals, school by school. You know, guys, my evaluationis measured by reaching these goals—which, in reality, are the testscores." Looking directly at the business administrator he says, "Oh,and, may I add, how well we are able to keep taxes down." His raucouslaugh makes the table shake. "And, if my evaluation is measured bythe accomplishment of these district goals, guess how each of yourevaluations will be measured," he cajoles, as he leans back in his chairwith a big grin on his face.
Hannah freezes for a moment. She hadn't given any thought to aformal evaluation as an administrator. With her former principal, shewas evaluated as part of the administrative team, so the evaluationswere always in tandem, always involved open and honest conversation,and were never a surprise. She remembers the times as a teacher whenshe was evaluated. She still remembers the panic she felt whenever theadministrator came into her classroom, despite the fact that Hannahwas considered an excellent teacher. How is this superintendent goingto observe her? When will it happen? She quickly learns a second rule:Her evaluation will be based on someone else's agenda.
She regains focus when she overhears the superintendent state thatthe performance of the students in the middle school is this year'starget. "Of course," laughs the superintendent, "this has nothing todo with the fact that six of the seven board members have children orgrandchildren in grades 5-8!" as he shoots a penetrating...
