John Dickinson High School must restructure under state and federal guidelines because its black, Hispanic, low income and special education students have failed to meet adequate yearly progress on English and mathematics standards.
The school needed someone to command a two-front war – improving internal operations and changing people’s perceptions of the school.
The man for the job was former Middletown High School assistant principal Byron Murphy, said Dr. Robert J. Andrzejewski, superintendent of the Red Clay Consolidated School District.
In this new era of state and federal accountability for local schools, one of the remedies the state allows in restructuring is installing a “turnaround leader,” Andrzejewski said.
Murphy understands operations and has a strong math and science background: he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering at the University of Delaware before returning to earn a master’s degree in mathematics education; he got a lot of experience in turnaround work at Middletown (which must also restructure); and he was on the Appoquinimink School District’s negotiating team for a new teacher contract.
In addition, he was head golf coach and assistant soccer coach. That is something Andrzejewski, as a former volleyball and softball coach at Wilmington High, liked as an additional nuance for a high school principal.
“So, in looking to change what’s happening inside the school and to change the image and perception of Dickinson, I thought a leader like Byron would be perfect for that role,” he said.
Murphy believes he can build on a lot of things that are already going well at the school. For instance, it’s important for people to remember that Dickinson has made improvements on the Delaware Student Testing Program. He has also been struck by how parent after parent has met with him and told him how wonderful the staff is. In addition, the teachers want to stay.
“The school district and high school have been through difficult years and a number of transitions,” Murphy said. “Even after all that, there was not a single person asking for a voluntary transfer.”
In terms of moving forward with student achievement, Murphy keeps his plan simple: it's all about instruction, and understanding the problem completely before devising a solution.
“The students aren’t reaching the level I know they’re capable of, faculty and staff are strong, there is a disconnect,” he said. “So, internally we’re going to focus on instruction – exactly what skills and knowledge I want my kids to have. That’s the first step. And how well is that aligned to what the state wants the students to know?”
Murphy is asking teachers to narrow down the list of content specified by the state and focus on them -- really hard.
He will continue to investigate the possibility of a block schedule, begun by interim principal Dan Deppe. Instead of students going to seven, 50-minute classes per day, they go to four 90 minutes classes per day. The objective is to reduce teacher load so teachers can pay more attention to individual students and meet needs better. He can also take more time to go deeper into specific content. As far as dealing with the school’s most at-risk populations, Murphy believes effective instruction has a big impact on any student regardless of where he comes from.
Also, schools need to build trust.
“We need to help the students from the city or any culture understand that the school is here for them,” he said. “Once you work on that front, what I really think it’s about is instruction.
“If instruction is engaging and effective, then the teachers’ lessons inspire the students’ thirst for knowledge. No matter what we see everyday, adolescents are dying to know everything. The reason I work with adolescents is because of that aspect of who they are. So if the instruction is what it should be, then issues of culture can recede.”
As for public perception, Murphy believes he has to be the school’s chief spokesman and point out, for instance, that this past year’s DSTP results show Dickinson significantly reduced the number of low income students not meeting standards.
“Part of my job is to be the p.r. person and build programs that make the folks right here in this neighborhood think twice before putting their children on a bus to a school half an hour away.”
