CHENEY – Three candidates, Renee Bailey, Brandon Bouge and Eli Holm, were interviewed for the Cheney Middle School (CMS) principal vacancy in an open forum at the CMS commons on June 16.
Bailey is currently the interim principal of Deer Park Elementary School, Bouge is the associate director of special education at Spokane Public Schools and Holm is the assistant principal at CMS.
Each candidate had 20 minutes to introduce themselves and answer the following questions, curated by attendees:
1. How will you build a bridge with the Cheney community?
Bouge:"It is vital that administration knows the context of the community. It's important that I know parent groups and make sure I know people who have something that they want to share. It's about knowing what your community needs."
Bailey:"I'm new to being an outsider and having to understand the dynamic of traditions— I get that. I'm highly relational and invest in students' lives and families. I am present, visible and relational. I see middle school as the last, best chance to keep parents involved in school. I want parents to come into school and be involved in the decisions that we make."
2. What is the most rewarding part of your work?/what is your greatest teacher leader experience?
Bouge:"It's the moments that you talk to students who you've been supporting, and they're in a sincere realization that they have achieved their goals and those students are proud to tell you about their accomplishments."
Bailey:“The most rewarding part of this kind of job is when students and staff take risks and grow. I love seeing kids and staff take risks and try new things. I'm here because I want to see people become the best versions of themselves."
Holm:"After a student suicide, we all sat in the back there [of CMS commons] crying, and a student looked up at me and said thank you and I said for what? The student said for being real and that stuck with me. We need to model being human by being real. If we can't do that, then the academics don't matter."
3. What are your top three priorities if you get this position?
Bouge:"My first priority is ensuring we're staffed and dialed in— we've got our basic functions. My second priority is creating a relationship with all stakeholders in learning. My third priority is safety. That is one of the biggest issues and students need to feel authentically safe physically and emotionally."
4. How does your philosophy of discipline support both students and teachers?
Bouge:"Discipline needs to be focused on changing behavior. Extreme behavior is pretty cut and dry— if staff and student safety are at risk, automatic motions need to happen. We need to ensure that no one is under direct threat, then collect information. It [discipline] is about trusting relationships and knowing your group and knowing what an appropriate approach is."
Bailey:"It's about behavior support, not discipline. You have to set a clear foundation and teach that and support that. I'll work directly with staff and figure out the hot spots— where do our kids need the most help? I will be someone encouraging them to make the best decisions. Teach, model, reinforce and have a system in place to do just that. I genuinely want what's best for them."
Holm:"Discipline is truly educational and our discipline must be in a way that seeks improvement in the long run. We need to assign discipline as necessary but ensure that the behavior doesn't continue. It's about getting to the route of the cause. Discipline is an art, not a science— it's kid by kid."
5. As a parent of student connections, one thing lacking is representation and inclusivity through the rest of the school, especially during orientation. How will you bring more inclusivity to this program?
Bouge:"In the last three years in Spokane Public Schools, inclusion has been the primary driving factor for special needs education and my work. Inclusion is very close to my heart. As principal of Cheney Middle School, it will continue to be my driver to ensure that every student feels like they're included."
Bailey:"They have to be included because they're general education. You can't put students in separate programs for their whole lives. It comes down to working with families, their case managers and staff."
Holm:"We need to ensure that we're involving parents. It's not "here's your orientation" separately but "you're a part of this school."
6. How do you plan to support what already works and foster new ideas?
Bouge:"I'm always about new ideas, but I need to understand what's happening here and how my decisions can impact the community at large. I want to build relationships, do outreach and find out what's working and what's not. During the first couple of years, it's about "what are the smaller things we can tweak to make the biggest impact?"
Bailey:"I've had the opportunity to look at what CMS has done well and we need to continue that. But we also have the opportunity for a really new and fresh set of eyes. I respect that change is hard. I think that people are on different continuums of change and to take the time to learn people's resistance to change and support them through that. I have a desire to make sure that I'm getting it right."
Holm:“It's important to recognize that we have to keep tightening systems up and continue to improve. I realize there is trauma in transition, and I recognize the time that has been spent here and celebrate that work that has happened and change things up to make things even better.
After each candidate's stage time, attendees were asked to complete an online feedback questionnaire about each candidate.
In a June 20 email to the Free Press, Cheney School District Superintendent Ben Ferny said the application for the CMS principal position has reopened.
"Our hope was that we would select the next Cheney Middle School Principal through this exercise, however, the collective feedback leads us to reopen the principal application process," he said. "This decision was not an easy one, yet, we look forward to the successful completion of hiring the next Cheney Middle School Principal."
The second round of interviews will begin in mid-July.
Michaela is a former newsroom intern at the Cheney Free Press. She covered stories on education, city government, cops/courts/fire departments and local businesses.
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