Caledonia Argus

Doty recognized as principal of the year

Posted: 6/17/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

Awaiting Brian Doty at the tail end of ten years as Caledonia High Schoolís principal was a giant award trophy.

Doty has been named the Southeastern Minnesota Principal of the Year by the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, and will be honored at a ceremony June 18 in Breezy Point.

The award comes in the wake of a decade of service as the schoolís principal, during which time Doty tempered the schoolís climate in the direction of better attendance, improved discipline, and expanded curriculum.

ìThe challenges have been great, but the data suggest weíre aimed educationally in the right direction,î Doty said, ìand Iím happy to be part of an effective and progressive educational environment.î

The amount of change within the district during his tenure has been dramatic. The district has had 15 administrators between 1993 and 2003, and Doty is the only one thatís been there that whole time. Staff turnover has been none less extremeñ heís hired 60% of the schoolís teaching staff since he began.

Doty pointed out that, even at the national level, it used to be that current staff were always potential candidates for open positions. This is no longer the case, and a major challenge for him and other district officials has been finding candidates outside the district. The hiring of new employees to fill open positions in the past six years, he said, ìindicate weíve met that challenge.î

One of the biggest changes, though, was planning the high schoolís move from West Main Street to a new building at 825 North Gjere Avenue. The actual physical relocation of the school, he said, was almost inconsequential compared to the effort of planning the move.

Hundreds of hours were put into nailing down how classes would be situated, what technology would go where, and how daily activities could be streamlined. All the planning and problem-solving that needed to be done, Doty pointed out, was emblematic of the ways in which the district has constantly restructured throughout the past decade.

ìVirtually every level of our operation has seen rapid change in the past ten years,î Doty noted. A paradigm example of the kind of evolution the school has undergone, he said, is the updates in technology that have been made. Ten years ago, the school had a handful of primitive computers. Now, there are hundreds of computers, networked throughout the school, and for the most part they are all state-of-the-art.

It has been in improving student performance, though, and raising the bar of academic standards, that has been the salient achievement of Dotyís time at CHS. Over the past six years, the schoolís ACT scores have climbed each consecutive year. And six years ago, 40% of students were on the honor roll; now, 60% are on it.

The improvements, Doty believes, stem from changes made in the past six years that created a learning environment better suited to student growth. The attendance policy was changed, resulting in improved attendance since the mid-1990s, and the discipline policy was modified to create a more positive overall classroom setting.

Also, the school switched to a four-period day, allowing students to complete their required courses in less time and do PSEO, a post-secondary program in which students earn college credits. And Advanced Placement courses were implemented, allowing students to earn college credits while still at CHS.

ìIf you look at the data, one thing after another suggests higher student performance,î Doty said.

District officials tend to agree. Cheryl Whitesitt, a school board member for 14 years, including the time from when Doty began at CHS ten years ago up until this January when she left the board, believes that Dotyís efforts played a significant role in making the district what it is today.

ìBrianís had a true vision for this district,î she said, ìa vision for improving discipline, improving attendance, and improving reading and math (standardized test) scores.î

The chief virtue of Dotyís approach, she added, was his drive to improve the school for students of all abilities. Doty has been fully conscious that changes benefitting some students might work to the detriment of others, and it was crucial that all students were given the same opportunities to achieve. ìOur job is to educate everyone to their maximum potential,î Whitesitt noted, ìand his passion addressed the special needs students, the average students, and the upper level students.î

With ten years as CHS principal under his belt, the Principal of the Year award couldnít have come at a better time. The 2002-2003 school year was his last as secondary principal; he will remain in the district, but starting next year he will serve as middle school principal, special education coordinator, and school-to-work program coordinator.

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