The Parent Principal

3. Aspire to Inspire

There is a fifteen feet long, one and a half feet wide banner that spans the overhang to the entrance of the school where I was principal. It was placed there 7 years ago and remains there to this day. It has a white background with big, bold red letters that can be seen from the street, about fifty yards away. The message on the banner asserts, “At School #2, WE ASPIRE TO INSPIRE!”

The resource room teacher of our school and I developed a tradition a number of years ago where we would have lunch with a student from her program on a Friday during the last month of school. This was an acknowledgement and celebration of the student’s accomplishments throughout the year. A few months prior to the banner being displayed, the student who was invited to join us on that day, joined us, but insisted on providing lunch. Thanks to his mom, this student entered my office pulling a cooler on wheels behind him that contained sandwiches, salads, bottles of water, and a variety of desserts. Something told us that this was going to be an extra special lunchtime experience. And, that’s just what it was.

The conversation over lunch included examples his teacher and I observed in him since the beginning of the school year. His open, honest, and completely comfortable manner in which he shared during classroom lessons, was just one of many things we talked about.

This was one of the many parts of my role as principal that I loved. Interacting with students and teachers was always something I looked forward to and often considered the highlight of my day. After all, It is all about relationships.

The connection that I observed between this student and his teacher truly captured the essence of relationships. It was obvious that he felt completely comfortable, at ease, and willing to share his thoughts without any hint of being self-conscious or hesitant to share what was on his mind. The conversation that took place was just that, a conversation with an exchange of information that covered several topics, brought “to the table” not just by the adults, but by this student as well.

It was near the end of the lunchtime period, when the student made a comment that was directed to both of us. He said, “You have both been an inspiration to me over the last six years.” The teacher and I looked at each other, both visibly moved by the sentiment he shared. These are the kinds of experiences that make education a most gratifying and rewarding career.

My immediate, genuine, and spontaneous response to what we had just heard was, “Well, we aspire to inspire here at School #2.” With that, the teacher and I looked at each other feeling that what had just transpired was truly a moment that was special to say the least.

After thanking him for the ‘gift’ he had bestowed upon us, and for the delicious lunch he and his mom had provided, he thanked us for spending this time with him.

Over one’s career, there are moments that stand out and remain with you at the forefront of the countless others that contribute to the “highlight reel” that are intangible gifts one can never put a price upon. This was one of those moments.

It was then that the theme, which became representative of our learning community, took hold. I looked across at my teacher, my colleague, my friend, and said, “I think we have something here.” She agreed and from that moment on, everything we said and did in support of the students of our learning community was connected to the theme that, “At School #2, we aspire to inspire.”

In the Introduction to The Parent Principal, it was mentioned that, “there is an overlapping quality that exists for each principle as it relates to each of the others on this list.” How we aspire to inspire goes hand in hand with how we engage students. This principle is an inherent part of the principle that we are our best resources, and it is directly related to relationships that exist within any organization, all of which are part of the goals that are strived for within the learning community.

In our learning community, inspiration was seen in the context of not just providing students with inspiration. We tried to consistently instill and reinforce the idea that not only can one be the recipient of inspiration, but the one providing the inspiration as well. It is a fluid dynamic that exists when considering the act of inspiring.

We recognized that students could be the source of inspiration for their classmates as well as for the teachers, parents, and administrators. The student who told his Resource Room teacher and me that we were sources of inspiration may not have realized just how much of an inspiration he was to us, so we made a point of telling him just that. In retrospect, this student had been a constant source of inspiration to his classmates, his teachers, and to me. His words became the impetus for the school theme that continues to this day. The staff and I were very fortunate to have parents who were dedicated to the idea that we were a team working together on behalf of all students. What they brought to the school and staff, through their commitment, hard work, creativity, and resourcefulness, was always a source of inspiration to us.

I am now in my fourth year of retirement. One day, not long ago, I went to a local Italian market and was waiting in line to place my order. A young man, around six feet tall, wearing a cap, glasses, and a mask approached me from the other side of the counter and said, “Can I help you, Mr. Capone?” I looked at this young man, trying to determine who it was, although I was certain he was a former student. Admittedly, I was at a loss. The hat, glasses, and mask were of no help to me trying to determine his identity. To help me through this awkward moment, he said, “We aspire to inspire.” As he uttered those words, I knew that this was the same student behind the inspiration that led to our learning community’s theme. It was another moment for me that I will not soon forget. As for this young man, he continues to be a source of inspiration.

Feel free to provide examples here of inspiration you have been witness to, or of how you were the recipient of another's inspiration, or of how you have been an inspiration to others. We're always ready to be inspired. Do you aspire to inspire?

To be addressed in the upcoming segment of The Parent Principal is the principle of the Home-School Partnership.