New Richmond-area principals get a helping hand

As the leader of Longdale Elementary School in Henrico County, first-year principal Andrea Prisco cheers and praises students' and teachers' good work and solves their problems.

"Just like teachers and students, leaders need that also," she said. "You need to hear, 'You're doing a good job.' It's lonely at the top sometimes."

Fortunately, Prisco has Becky Bray on her side during difficult times at school and in her personal life to help her look for solutions and commend her work.

Bray, who retired after serving 19 years as principal in different schools, is part of the Leadership Coaches initiative. The initiative is one of several programs by EduLead, a partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for School Improvement and the University of Richmond's Center for Leadership in Education.

EduLead trains experienced and recently retired principals to coach new Richmond-area principals in decision making and goal setting and to accelerate their transition as leaders.

EduLead started in the fall of 2007 and has 23 trained and paid coaches. This year, 16 coaching relationships are under way in the schools of Richmond and Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties. Last year, 22 principals were paired with EduLead coaches. Coaches and principals meet once a month and communicate by phone and e-mail in between.

Corporate and gift grants and fees paid by recipient school divisions pay for the program, said Kate M. Cassada, projects manager for VCU's Center for School Improvement.

Leadership coaching has been around in the corporate world for a while, but it's new in education, Cassada said. Teachers receive good coaching, she said.

"The focus now needs to be on how we coach and help leadership roles," she said.

Bray, who last served at Rural Point Elementary School in Hanover, said she would have loved to have had a coach who worked outside the school system and wasn't running her own school. When she started as a principal, she said, she was leery about sharing certain information with her coach because of a fear that it would be shared with her supervisor. She didn't want to appear weak among her peers either, she said.

"I would call a veteran principal, but they were busy putting out their own fires," she said.

Prisco said she has a mentor through the school system, but she values Bray's availability, flexibility and confidentiality.

"I'm very comfortable in just sitting down and talking with her about almost anything because of that peace, knowing that she doesn't work here in Henrico," she said. "It could be something that is confidential, so it's important that it stays between the two of us."

It may seem that with all the experience Bray has as principal that she would come in and tell Prisco what to do, but that is not her job, Bray said.

"I'm here to help her grow, to be the principal that she's very capable of being," she said. "I'm not here to solve her problems."

When she listens and questions her a little, Prisco usually arrives at what she needs to do next or what not to do when she does make a mistake, Bray said.

"This job is just not one that you can go in and make things perfect every time," she said. "But you grow with those experiences throughout the day."

The best part is Bray listens and gives positive responses, Prisco said.

"When you had a stressful day, the last thing you need is somebody to tell you, 'Well, you could have done such and such or you could have done a better job.'"

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or .