Interview: Shannon Leonard, First Principal at Echo Park's New School

We told you earlier that the former Central Region Elementary School #14 had been re-christened Sandra Cisneros Learning Academy.

The school will be managed by Camino Nuevo Charter Academy. CNCA was awarded the stewardship in favor of another group of parents, students and residents.

That decision has not been without controversy.

Shannon Leonard was selected in late May as the school's first principal. He held a series of "get-to-know-you" meetings in the community.

He's also been hard at work hiring staff and faculty and planning curriculum.

He recently took some questions from Echo Park Patch by email.  Here's the first set of his answers. 

Echo Park Patch: Where did you attend elementary school and what was that like?

Shannon Leonard: I attended Sanford Street School in Glens Falls, a small town in upstate New York. It was wonderful. It was a very old school in a big brick building. The teachers were great and the principal was such a friendly guy---Mr. Garuccio, he had a big grey mustache and a kind demeanor. I remember he had me draw a picture at my kindergarten entrance interview with my mom, and I drew a very detailed picture of Superman.

Echo Park Patch: What's your fondest/most important memory of that time?

Shannon Leonard: I have a lot of great memories from elementary school, but two stick out. I remember singing in Mr. Detour’s chorus (it was for all fourth and fifth graders), and I was the only boy in the soprano section (I guess I had a high voice).

We sang “We Are the World” for our final performance. I loved singing! The other thing I remember was our weekly assemblies. I remember being so hopeful that I’d get “Student of the Week,” and when I did, I was so proud to bring home the certificate and the pin they gave us.

Echo Park Patch: What have been your first priorities in taking over as principal?

Shannon Leonard: My two main priorities have been hiring teachers and ordering books and supplies. There’s nothing more important than making sure we have great people teaching the kids, and the tools they need to do their job, so that’s been my focus so far!

Echo Park Patch: How will that change once the building is officially opened?

Shannon Leonard: Once we move into the building, the focus will shift to making sure the teachers, students, and families have their needs met at all times. A lot falls under this umbrella, from making sure textbooks are distributed, to making sure school policies are clearly communicated, to making sure recess runs smoothly, to hundreds of other things!

Echo Park Patch: Do you think it's different being the "first principal" as opposed to taking over from someone else?

Shannon Leonard: Absolutely. As the first principal, a big part of the job is setting a vision, and building a school culture that will move all stakeholders towards that vision. In other words, where do we want to end up as a school, and what practices are we going to institute to progress towards that end goal each and every day, little by little?

When taking over for someone else, a lot of times the vision and culture are already in place. Being a first principal is very appealing to me, because I am a creative, imaginative person, so thinking about and planning the vision and culture excite me.

Echo Park PatchWhat's the biggest challenge you face?

Shannon Leonard: The biggest challenge is getting hundreds of people (students, teachers, families), all brand-new to the school, working together towards a common goal as soon as possible, so that teaching and learning can be maximized from day one. Creating a collaborative atmosphere where everyone operates as a team and family is always a challenge, and completely necessary.

Echo Park Patch: The biggest opportunity?

Shannon Leonard: The biggest opportunity is to take all the best practices from the Camino Nuevo schools and other schools I have worked at, visited, and researched, and to combine them to create a school that gives the kids a great education and makes learning fun. 

Echo Park Patch: What's unique to the population you are serving and how will you address that?

Shannon Leonard: The diversity of Echo Park is unique. Los Angeles as a whole is diverse, but few neighborhoods are as diverse as Echo Park. To me, that’s going to be a real asset to the school.

Diversity brings diverse perspectives, diverse talents, diverse hopes, and diverse histories, and when you have more to draw from your school community has the potential to be stronger than if you did not have such diversity.

It is very important to me to listen to and tap into the perspectives, talents, hopes and histories of our diverse students and families and use these things to empower our school.

THERE'S MORE:

Part two of our interview with Shannon Leonard addresses parents' questions.  Look for it on  Echo Park Patch soon.