BELTON, Texas — Belton Independent School District hosted its first-ever Principal-4-A-Day event on Wednesday, Mar. 8. Fifteen "guest principals", including 6 News Anchor Baylee Bates, spent the morning shadowing a principal at various campuses to get an inside look at what the role entails.
District leaders implemented the event as a way to help increase the engagement of stakeholders in the schools and with BISD.
"We know that the heart and soul of our campuses are our principals, and what better way to bring our stakeholders in is to let them shadow our amazing principals and see all of the roles they have to juggle on a day to day basis," said Jennifer Bailey, the district's executive director of communications & community engagement.
Jeremiah VanBlaricom participated as a "guest principal" at Charter Oak Elementary School where he shadowed Christopher Lockamy. He said he has a new appreciation for education administrators and was shocked to learn how many roles the principal plays in the school day.
"[Lockamy] was wearing so many hats," VanBlaricom said. "He was their friend. I didn't see it, but I'm sure he was a disciplinarian as well. He got called away constantly to deal with a student, or a classroom situation or a thing like that and then let me change gears and come back and talk to you."
VanBlaricom wanted to participate in the event as he has a daughter who would go to Belton ISD schools when she is older. He recommend other community members to take advantage of the opportunity to peek behind the curtain of what's happening in public schools.
"It'll give you a different understanding of what's going on on the campuses," he said. "You'll see it firsthand. You'll see what they're doing. They're doing their best. Get in the classroom, see what's going on -- be informed."
6 News Anchor Baylee Bates said she learned being a principal is like running a city, and it's more than just decision making. It's important to create culture, a functional system and be an instructional leader for staff and students.
BISD is hoping to have the Principal-4-A-Day event in the future as they work on their long-term goal of seeking out opportunities to bring stakeholders into schools.
"There are many misconceptions about what is happening inside schools and great things are happening in Belton ISD," Bailey said. "We are home to the best teachers, the best staff, the best students and we are excited to open the doors up and show our community how incredible our schools are."