|
WASHINGTON - Wisconsin's Middle Level Principal of the Year, Kathy Lemberger, met with Rep. Tom Petri in Washington Oct. 15 to discuss education issues. Lemberger, the principal of Washington Junior High School in Manitowoc, was on Capitol Hill as part of the MetLife/National Association of Secondary School Principals National Principal of the Year Program.
Lemberger and Petri discussed the federal No Child Left Behind law, Petri's proposal to give school districts more flexibility to use computerized adaptive tests, and the need to give school districts more autonomy.
When asked what she had done to be named Principal of the Year, Lemberger gave the credit to her staff who, she said, "are just incredibly effective practitioners who are working hard to get kids to think deeply and apply the learning that they are doing to real world problems beyond the classroom. And this is a very different approach than lots of schools are taking because lots of schools are saying, "We gotta pass these tests. We gotta learn how to take these standardized tests and focus on teaching to the test.'"
"But we have gone outside the box a little bit," she said. "We are not stuck in the status quo, and we are saying, 'Let's teach these kids about what they are going to need to be successful in life and learning. And I have a staff who works so incredibly hard. At this point, I'm getting a little bit of credit for it, but I know who does all the hard work, and that's the teachers and the staff at Washington Junior High School. And I'm awfully proud of them."
Petri said he could tell why Lemberger was chosen. "Focusing on the team and the achievements of others helps explain why things have gone so well at Washington Junior High School in Manitowoc."
|
