Previous Story
‘My calling is to be a principal’
|
Posted on Oct 28 2008
As principal of William S. Reyes Elementary School, Lynette Villagomez oversees 698 students. Here she answers some questions.
[B]Question: What is your past experience?[/B]Answer: I was vice principal at WSR from 2002 to 2006. I became principal at WSR in 2006. Before that I was a 3rd grade teacher for one year, a 2nd grade teacher for two years and a reading resource teacher for one year.
A: Well, I start off by coming to work. Of course, I greet students and teachers. And then I spend time catching up on work. And helping out with other tasks: helping the vice principal with curriculum, and anything else that surrounds duties and responsibilities of running a school; going to the cafeteria; attending a lot of meetings; and, of course, there’s dealing with student behavior. I do a lot with special education… we’re very busy. Besides meetings and all that, we have our reports to put together for [the Public School System]. It’s very challenging, especially this school year. I’m finding it’s more challenging this school year.
I enjoy being in the classroom; however, I guess my calling is to be a principal. I want to help students by being able to help teachers. If I were in a classroom, I would only help those students. But by being a principal, I can help all students by helping their teachers.
[B]Q: What’s the best thing about being a principal?[/B]A: The best thing is making a difference in a child’s life and seeing them change over time, in terms of their growth academically or emotionally. We have to take care of their emotional needs before we can take care of their academic needs. It’s gratifying.
[B]Q: What’s the hardest part of being a principal?[/B]A: The hardest part, I think, is meeting the needs of our community, in terms of not only academic goals, but in order to meet that we have to be able to take care of emotional needs—the basic needs of a child. In this area, that’s a big challenge for me. In this community, Chalan Kanoa and Susupe…it’s very different. If a student is not emotionally stable, it’s very difficult for them to learn.
[B]Q: What are your goals for the school year?[/B]A: There are six goals for the students: to become life long learners; smart thinkers; effective communicators; collaborative workers; quality producers; and community contributors.
