Clendaniel Looks Forward

 

Principal William Clendaniel will officially retire at the end of this school year. But before then, he has more than a few loose ends to tie up. Easily the most important question that Clendaniel will have to help answer is who should become T.C.’s next principal. To assist Superintendent Morton Sherman and other ACPS officials, Clendaniel will be making suggestions about what type of person he believes would make an effective principal. Although no specific candidates are being considered yet, Clendaniel has some ideas about the characteristics the next principal should have, as well as the general direction T.C. needs to move in.

“We should be leading the region, not trailing it,” said Clendaniel. This is the core principle behind Clendaniel’s vision for T.C.’s future. How to turn the school into “the measure of high school achievement” is the task he places on his successor’s shoulders. But Clendaniel is not the type of administrator to make blanket statements about long-term goals and not offer a strategy for achieving them.

Central to his strategy is a focus on literacy, high academic expectations, and college preparation. “Students don’t write enough. I think students should be writing every day,” said Clendaniel. He also believes that too many students come to high school not thinking about what comes afterward, and the steps they need to take to be prepared. “We have students saying ‘Oh yeah, I’m going to UVA,’” said Clendaniel. “Well, what about applying first?”

This was the inspiration for the College and Career Center, which Clendaniel counts among his greatest contributions to the student body.

The difficult task now facing ACPS is finding someone who can accomplish these things. Fortunately, they can turn to Clendaniel for ideas about what to look for. Intelligence and flexibility are two traits that Clendaniel thinks are essential. “They need to be nimble,” he said. “They need to be able to keep all the balls up in the air at one time.” Hopefully, though, there won’t be too many balls to juggle. “We want someone who can respond to crises, but we shouldn’t be going from crisis to crisis.”
Clendaniel says that while flexibility is needed to manage all the moving parts of a public high school, there is one thing that cannot bend: academic standards. “An average GPA of below 2.5 is unacceptable,” he said. “We need rigorous standards and high expectations.” Clendaniel has no doubt that T.C. students can set the bar for high school excellence, and wants someone who will aim high to take office. “They need to be a visionary,”said Clendaniel.

Aside from these lofty aims, Clendaniel also sees some very practical changes that could be made. He would like the principal’

s office to be more student-accessible, not tucked away in a remote corner behind administrative offices. He also hopes that the earlier graduation date for seniors remains in place.

ACPS does not employ prophets, so no one really knows what the next T.C. principal will be like. But if ACPS follows Clendaniel’s suggestions, then there may at least be a visionary on the payroll next fall.