Q&A With Dr. Jennifer Byars, Principal Of Gallup Hill Elementary School

Principal Jennifer Byars announced her resignation from on the Thursday before April vacation after only four years in the Ledyard Schools district. Byars accepted a position as principal at Deep River Elementary School, which is just about a four minute commute from her home and also where she, her mother and grandfather went to school.

Byars said the job change wasn’t planned and, in fact, she wasn’t even looking for a new job when her daughter, a sixth grader in the school, brought home a newsletter advertising the position.

What will you miss about Gallup Hill School and Ledyard school district?

“I’ll miss the close collaborative staff here. If you have a problem you’re stuck on and if you share that with people, they’ll be so forthcoming with solutions.”

Byars said the students’ parents and the schools PTO have been incredibly supportive and have placed a strong emphasis on the educational piece of the school community, “not just the fluff.”

And, she said, “there are kids I’ve known for four years. I’ll miss seeing them grow up and seeing what they become.” She added that Dr. Michael Graner, the superintendent, and Cathy Patterson, assistant superintendent, “have put together a phenomenal group of leaders.”

What makes this school and the Ledyard school district unique?

Before coming to Ledyard, Byars was a high school science teacher in Augusta County, Va. for seven years. She was an assistant high school principal in Rockingham County, Va. and she has been the principal of Gallup Hill for four years.

“For a rural community, our diversity is pretty unique,” she said of the multi-cultural, multi-national and socio-economic spectrum found in Ledyard. “We use it as a teaching tool about tolerance and differences.”

She said the strong community support beyond that of the parents has also been a unique experience.

“I’ve been very impressed that the community pulls together for the schools,” she said reflecting on the budget process and the narrow business and industrial tax base.

Byars said school traditions like the the Gallup Hill Wave at the end of the year, school meetings and dress-up days are also an integral part of the school community.

What achievements are you most proud of?

Byars said all her achievements were a team effort supported or initiated by the faculty and staff at the school. She said the school has seen significant improvements in CMT scores, for instance:

• She said 50 percent of third graders were reading at goal level in 2009 and 68 percent of those students were reading at goal level when they were assessed again in 2011.
• She said 59 percent of third graders were at goal level in math in 2009 and then 75 percent were at goal in 2011.
• She said 69 percent of fourth graders were reading at goal level in 2009, which increased to 91 percent when they were assessed again in 2011.

Over the past four years she has lost three teaching positions due to budget cuts and, “being able to improve under funding cuts is a good achievement.”

Byars said that school faculty and staff re-dedicated themselves to the classroom behavior and expectations with her support and now the types of discipline referrals sent her way have improved and are less severe.

And, the weekend backpack program is something she took a special interest in. The program is a collaboration between outside social services groups, the school nurse, PTO and student council. They come together and fill backpacks with food to send home to selected kids for the weekend.

“If that can keep going, that would be wonderful,” she said.

What do you wish you had accomplished before the end of your time here?

“The biggest thing is the transition of our curriculum to the common core standards,” she said. “We’ve got a nice start on it, I wish I could have seen that through.”

Byars said until her last day near the end of June, she’ll be working diligently to tie up lose ends and lay the groundwork for the implementation of the common core standards, which will have to be in place by 2014.

“I think it’s (the school) in good shape culturally, academically and financially,” she said. “I don’t want the new person to have to sweat the small stuff, I want them to be able to pick up the big stuff and start running.”

What advice do you have for the incoming principal?

Byars said much of her time was spent operationalizing the good ideas that came directly from staff at the school. She said teachers reinstated buddy classrooms, the school meeting schedule, they tweaked and emphasized the classroom behavior model and came up with a pledge students sign in the beginning of the year.

“This is a fantastic staff that truly work for the best interest of the students,” she said. “Listen to them.”