Two Cedar Rapids elementary schools to share principal in administrative shift

CEDAR RAPIDS - Two elementary schools will share a principal this school year, and the Cedar Rapids Community School District will have a new administrator overseeing discipline and attendance, as part of a staffing change in the district that takes effect July 1.

The district in June decided to move Ellen Daye-Williams, who this year was the principal at Jackson Elementary School, into the district office as the district's first manager of student discipline and attendance.

Administrators chose to make the move after reviewing attendnace and discipline data for the 2014-15 school year, said Val Dolezal, the district's executive director of prekindergarten through 8th grade. The district has been looking for ways to focus on attendance and disicpline policies that include restorative justice, Dolezal said, and school administrators have asked the district for more help.

'We're making gains, but we're not making gains fast enough,” she said.

As part of the change, Madison Elementary School principal James Girdner also will be principal at Jackson this school year. The district plans to find a permanent replacement for Daye-Williams next year and hopes waiting a year will result in a stronger candidate pool, Dolezal said.

Girdner said he plans to split his time between the two buildings, spending three days each week at one building and two days at the other, and reversing that schedule the following week. He usually works 10- to 12-hour days and some hours during the weekend, he said.

'Any time you go into the unknown, there's always that little bit of anxiety and stuff, but also it's a super opportunity to hone your craft,” Girdner said. 'To see how another school operates within the same district, and to gain information from other professionals.”

Girdner seems like a great administrator, said Emmaly Renshaw, a parent of three Jackson students and a co-president of the Jackson parent teacher association this school year. But the district 'wasn't very forthcoming” in its communication about the change, and sharing a principal could hurt the schools, Renshaw said.

'They keep trying to cut necessary resources,” she said. '… I think it's going to be a tough year for both Jackson and Madison.”

The change means another transition year for Jackson, Renshaw said, noting that Daye-Williams only served as the school's principal for one year. Julie McMahan, also a parent of three Jackson students and the PTA's other co-president, agreed.

'I think the students need some consistent leadership and consistency in their routine and consistent expectations,” McMahan said.

Sharing principals has worked for the district in the past, Dolezal said, adding that she once was principal of both Grant Elementary School and Wilson Middle School. Angela Foster, an instructional design strategist at Madison, and Annie Bradford, a special education facilitator at Jackson, will help lead the schools when Girdner is not in the building, Dolezal said.

Daye-Williams will be the district's point person this school year when representatives of the Iowa Department of Education visit to review student equity in the district, Dolezal said. Daye-Williams has experience in special education and has spent more than 10 years as a building administrator, Dolezal said.

Daye-Williams will not oversee the district's response to an ongoing federal civil rights investigation that started in January 2014, Dolezal said. The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and concerns alleged discrimination against black students through disproportionate discipline.

Daye-Williams did not respond to multiple requests for comment.