Horry County assistant principals get boost from academy

Aspiring assistant principals in Horry County Schools can take advantage of a unique learning opportunity to prepare for their goals of eventually becoming school principals.

The district program, called the AP Academy, is designed to deepen the knowledge of assistant principals, or APs, about all aspects of a principal’s job.

“Many of the day-to-day experiences of an AP might not encompass all of the components of school administration,” said Teal Britton, school district spokeswoman. “The academy gives a platform for leadership training and for all the other areas of which you have to have knowledge and proficiency to manage an entire school.”

H.T. Lee, executive director of middle schools, started the program three years ago after talks with Superintendent Cindy Elsberry, district directors and Linda May of the graduate studies program at Coastal Carolina University. He said the objective was to create a program that would help APs become instructional leaders.

Organizers launched the academy by sending out invitations to all the APs to gauge interest, and instructor time was volunteer. The response was huge, Lee said, with the first class holding 60 people.

“The first year we covered the basics -- vision, supervision, professional learning communities, finance, special needs,” Lee said. “All the specialists come from here and Coastal. Dr. May or someone from Coastal would talk theory, then someone from the district who was involved in a concept would talk about, ‘This is how we use this.’ ”

Classes meet once a month, with a morning and an afternoon session to allow scheduling flexibility, especially for those who work at schools with more than one AP on staff.

John Washburn, an AP at Carolina Forest High School, has attended classes for two of the three years, having been involved in a state-level program last year. He said the academy is a good opportunity for APs to come together and hear first-hand from those at the district level.

“The best thing is having access to the folks who are driving the initiatives,” said Washburn, in his fourth year as an AP. “We’re all working toward the same goal, and that’s real critical.”

Washburn said the academy fills in the gaps for APs, who come to their jobs from a range of perspectives. He said he was a high school band director before becoming an AP, while others come to the position from backgrounds such as curriculum and technology.

“Not being a core classroom teacher, I have had to work very diligently to be more versed on curriculum,” Washburn said. “That’s been very beneficial for me, to be able to help our teachers and give them tools to work with.”

Eight academy alumni have already been promoted as principals in the district, including James LaPier, who became principal at Lakewood Elementary School this year.

“I think it was very exciting and inviting for upcoming administrators in Horry County that there was something out there to help those of us who truly want to be principals,” LaPier said. “It was very valuable … and let us get a taste of the work that the principals are currently doing. We were kept abreast of the hot topics of education.”

A second AP Academy started this year for those who are new to the program. Lee said classes for veterans are being mirrored around A-team meetings, which are for principals, and that the APs want to be kept abreast of what is happening in the district, along with any new or major initiatives.

“It’s been very successful, and it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve taken part in since I’ve been here,” Lee said. “They soak things up, and they really want to learn. It’s a great group of people.”