Kyle Nicholas Di Campli

EDL 561
6/14/14

Jonathan Ben-Asher
Principal



Principal Profile
Upon reviewing this assignment to interview a principal, I realized that it had to be an
administrator that I havent worked for nor that I am really familiar with. I pondered who I
might be interested in interviewing, who might give me the time of day, and who was an active
administrator that specializes in an academic level unlike my own. I was searching for some
possible candidates for my interview when I came across an online article. This article was
providing a little background information on the newly appointed principal at Tucson Hebrew
Academy. It just so turned out that Jonathan Ben-Asher was my 5
th
grade teacher at
Fruchthendler Elementary School here in Tucson, Arizona. It had been twenty years since I had
seen or spoken to him. I thought it would be a great idea to contact him and perhaps catch up
a little over a beer or lunch while I interviewed him. Though he was happy to be help me out
and do the interview, he made it very clear though an email that he was extremely busy and
that time would be an issue. As this will be his first year at Tucson Hebrew Academy, he is very
busy putting all the parts into place for the 2014-2015 school year. He also mentioned that his
mother is dying and that he has been spending the every night at his mothers house, taking
care of her and enjoying their last moments together. In short, he told me to call him on
Thursday at 11:00 A.M. He informed me that he would love to see me and give me an in-
person interview, but his life at the moment was hectic. What he was able to offer me was an
over the phone interview while he was driving to go pick up his kids. I realized that this was it, a
Take it or leave it situation. I myself was in the middle of a move and had my five year old
daughter with me at the time. Nonetheless, I grabbed my questions, pulled out a notepad
and a pen, and we did the interview over the phone.
He asked me if I wanted this interview to be from the point of view as the newly appointed
principal at Tucson Hebrew Academy or if he should base his answers off of his last position
where he served at Henry Elementary School for five years. I decided that answering these
questions through the lens of his experience at Henry Elementary School would be best. I first
asked him just to talk about Henry. He told me that it was a traditional school on Tucsons east
side which had an enrollment of around 350 students, but in his last year there, the enrollment
had dropped to 320 students. He mentioned that surrounding the school was a cross section of
kids, a stable neighborhood and a good base of Intact families. There was a good mix of
Anglo and Hispanic students, a small amount of African-American and a handful of Asian
students.
When I asked him about his schools educational program, he responded by saying that they
used a traditional Pullout Model. Once a week, students with special needs and G.A.T.E.
students were pulled from their normal classes for 45 minutes to receive special student
services. He mentioned that at his school there were 34 Special Education students that varied
from Dyslexic students to a student who was in the process of going blind. At Henry, he had a
child study team in place. When we talked about the mission for his school, he told me that it is
everyones job to fill the mission of our school from the principal to the crossing guard. He told
me that when you walked into Henry Elementary School, that you could see the schools
mission statement all over the place. The mission statement read as follows; Anna Henry
Elementary School will nurture the intellectual, physical, social, emotional, and aesthetic needs
of children by using developmentally appropriate practices, while providing a secure and
culturally sensitive environment.
After talking about the mission statement, we started talking about his teachers and his
expectations. He talked about the formal observation system where teachers would get
observed twice a year. One of these observations were announced and the other was not. My
impression was that these formal evaluations were not his tool for measuring a teachers
success. As a principal, he is in the classroom constantly. In my opinion, this was his informal
evaluation tool to see what is going on in the classroom, to see if teachers could manage their
students, and to see the good things that were transpiring inside. People want feedback he
told me. He talked about the importance of giving positive feedback and addressing teachers
strengths and weaknesses. He talked to me about building relationships and getting people on
your side. I listened and took notes while he spent several minutes talking about the
importance of having teachers backs, getting your hands dirty, modeling by example. He was
making a connection by saying if you are there for your teachers that they will work hard for
you.
My next question was about data. I asked him straight up if he believes that data drives
instruction. Absolutely, he responded. He seemed very happy to talk about his beliefs on
data and how he uses it. He said the first conversations at the beginning of the year were the
mission, the needs that were found in data, individual growth plans, and teaching team goals. I
strongly believe that he is a data guy. We talked about data for a few minutes and he was
really fired up about it. He said that when he looked at data in the beginning of the year as part
of a team, he determines what needs extra attention, what programs he could implement, and
if certain changes needed to be made.
Next was the all too difficult question about culture. I asked him how he develops culture and
also how it is developed when he walks in on day one at a new school. He responded by saying
that it was a difficult question and that developing a culture isnt easy. He emphasized the
importance of building and creating relationships. You are partners with them, he said. You
have to model teamwork and be a team player. He told me that the teachers are observing
you just as you are observing them. Stay late and come in early. He told me he would be out
by the playground in the morning talking to parents, staff and the kids and that he would be out
there with the kids as they got on the bus. He put an emphasis on solving problems together,
having teachers backs, being sincere and real with people. He said, No Bullshit. He added
that it was important to build team time and also grade level team time. He told me that at his
school there was an imbedded and collaborative time during the week. He added that this time
he would monitor and often he would have groups turn in what they discussed and what they
planned on doing next. Lastly, he talked about the importance of rewarding production. I dont
think he was implying that he bought teachers gold necklaces if their students got good grades
but that he would acknowledge teachers production and that maybe there might be other
small ways of showing appreciation and rewarding production which goes a long way.
The conversation changed tone a bit when I asked him about how he judges school
performance. I could instantly tell that he didnt like the wording of that question. His first
response was to Judge cautiously, which later turned into Withhold judgment. He talked to
me about having pre-determined measureable outcomes. He started telling me that a principal
needs to have a Long view of what he or she is seeing. He mentioned going into a classroom,
thinking that everything was a disaster, but that later when he spoke to the teacher that
everything made sense and he thought, Oh, I get it. Then we discussed the procedures in
place and how he could tell if the school and teachers were tight and effective. He told me that
he uses Mental benchmarks. He told me that he is always walking around with a clipboard
and taking notes. When talking about how he evaluated the teachers and the evaluation
process that he utilizes he told me that he has unique relationships with teachers individual
needs. He asked me as a teacher if I treat every student and every situation the same. I replied
by saying of course I dont. He told me that every teacher has different needs and that they
cannot all be evaluated the same. A new teacher will have much different needs than a teacher
who has been around will have.
I could tell that Mr. Ben-Asher is a multiplier when I asked him who he relies on to get things
done at his school. His answer was Everybody. He told me to know your team and who you
can go to for certain things. He followed by saying that everyone is relied on, its a team effort
but in the end the buck stops with the principal. I then asked him about staffing. I asked, as the
principal of an elementary school you are relied on to make good hires that will benefit the
students right? So I asked him how he goes about hiring staff. He said he looks for people who
love kids and who love teaching. He told me that about 85% of the teachers he has hired have
been Good folks. He told me that he looks for innate talents, applicants that have something
to work with, that they be coachable, flexible and able to work as a team. He said that when he
conducts the interviews, that he has the teachers who the candidate could be potentially
working with at the table participating in the interview. He told me that when I become a
principal, to avoid hiring people with an Adult agenda. He says that appearance and being a
person of high caliber is important for an applicant to have. He added by saying it is crucial to
check references. He then told me a quick story of how he had been fooled. He told me that
during an interview, the applicant looked great, seemed to know what he was doing, a team
player etc. He told me that it turned out that the man he had hired for a teaching position was
a Real Wacko. Later he talked to his previous employers and they said the same thing. He
then repeated his original statement; Check references.

When I asked him about how he spends his time each day and what he thought the most
important things were, he surprised me by saying that his number one daily task that he
thought was the most important was Being visible. During the first week of school I would
eat lunch with the kids, in the morning, I would be out in the playground talking with parents, I
would be out at the buses after school, and I would walk through three classrooms a day for
fifteen minutes. Next to being visible he talked about communication. As the principal, he
would receive 50-100 emails daily. He said it is very important to respond within 24 hours. He
also talked about the importance of face to face conversations. He said that everything cannot
be done through email and it is important to certain conversations in person. Next he talked
about Keeping your eye on the prize. He would be constantly monitoring how planning was
going, how that grant is coming along, constantly monitoring the schools missions and growth.
Then he told me that a principal has to be great at multitasking. Next he talked about having
good relationships. He said that without a doubt, that everything goes smoother when good
relationships exist. Having a good relationship with the assistant principal, if youre lucky
enough to have one is crucial. He went on by talking about having an effective team and what
that will do for your school. Lastly, he said one of his daily tasks is to Stay on schedule. I
responded by saying, Isnt that what everybody wants? We laughed because we both know
how hard it is, but it shows that he wants to stay on top of things.
One of the funniest parts of the interview was when I asked him how his daily work compares
to what he thought he was expected to do. He just laughed. After he finally stopped laughing,
he told me that as a principal you need to have a flexible mindset. He told me that you find out
you have much more to do than you ever thought. He followed by saying that you have to get
to know the school until you actually know whats going on. Learn what needs are, what does
the school need and what are the priorities of the school. Then, he said you can create the
mission statement. Later, when I asked him about his formal training and if he was prepared to
be a principal he laughed again. He replied, Nothing compares to on the job training. He
asked me about my very first week of teaching and how that went. He asked me if I
remembered that Oh my God feeling that I had. He said its like that. He followed by using
the phrase, Learning by getting dirty. He told me that he has been a principal for twelve
years. He added that his first on the job training was as an assistant principal of 750 students.
He followed by saying that the principal of Fruchthendler Elementary School took a leave of
absence for about 2 months and at that time he was the acting principal. He told me that
T.U.S.D. did a good job with leadership training. His first job as the principal was on the
complete opposite side of town from Fruchthendler Elementary and that everything was
different. He talked about different student needs, different school needs, a different type of
community and a completely different culture. He added that what he was expected to do at
this new school was completely different. He then talked about his years as the principal at
Wrightstown Elementary and told me that he became a better principal with time and
experience. He learned how to develop, talk about, and analyze data. He told me that you
have to give yourself room to make mistakes. He said that you have to be humble and to give
yourself space to learn.
I feel that I got a solid understanding of what it takes to be a principal when I asked him the last
question; Why do you think there is a principal shortage? To be honest, his the tone of his
voice changed and just started to list things that he believes to have a connection with the
shortage of principals. He started by saying that in Arizona, public education is
underappreciated, underpaid, and that there is a major wage issue. He told me being a
principal is a Brutal job. He said as the principal, that you get stabbed in the back, he added
people are Two-faced and principals get Chewed up. He said the principal has no peer in
the building, you have to balance between being the leader and getting down and dirty. He
said there is pressure from every angle, you get burnt out and that it is a very lonely job.
Everyone expects everything from you. He told me as a principal you have to be tough and
soft. He added, You get crapped on by everybody, you have to be like superman, you have to
have thick skin.

At that point, I thanked him for his time and for allowing me to conduct this interview. While
going over the notes I took, I remembered the tone of his voice when he would address the
areas of being a principal. I believe that he answered all of my questions Straight up with
honesty and sincerity. I feel like I got a real inside look of what it is like to be a principal. I
believe that this assignment was very useful because in my interview, Mr. Ben-Asher showed
me the real deal. He told me how tough it is, and how you are always being criticized, and that
it is always the Principals fault. I have a better understanding of just how easy it is for a
principal to be chewed up and spit out. However, from a phrase used by Mr. Jonathan Ben-
Asher, I know what lies behind the determination to be an effective principal; Kyle, you have
to love kids.