US Department of Ed Shadows Clarksville MS Principal Melissa Shindel

November 3rd, 2014

Clarksville MS Principal Melissa Shindel (2nd from left) with US Dept. of Ed official Bea Ceja and CMS students.

Clarksville Middle School Principal Melissa Shindel (CMS) was among a select group of regional principals who gave national education officials an unfiltered look into a day in the life of principal, in a leadership shadowing program organized by the US Department of Education. The program, now in its third year, is held in celebration of National Principals Month.

From the early hours of instruction, to afternoons of late buses and afterschool activities, Shindel says that the shadowing experience proved to be an accurate representation of the daily activity at many schools nationwide.

“It was tremendous,” says Shindel, who is in her sixth year as Clarksville principal and ninth year in HCPSS. “Our guest came before 8:00 a.m. and stayed for the entire day, and one of the things she said during our debriefing period is that she couldn’t believe how much we had gotten done before 10:30 in the morning.”

The shadow visits were organized through a U.S. Department of Education partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Shindel, who is past president of the Maryland NASSP chapter, noted that while the visits were not intended to shape or create discussion on education policy, they did foster dialogue on a variety of best practices.