Principal/Business Mentoring Program

As a first-year principal at DeVeaux Middle School on West Sylvania Avenue, Chad Henderly’s ears were wide open when he heard about the Partners In Education Principal/Business Mentoring Program.

The annual winter/spring program matches Toledo Public School principals with area business men and women, with the goal of providing a fresh channel of communication and professional development for the school district’s administrators.

Principal Henderly was matched up in the 2009 program with Mr. Steve Pereus, Chief Operating Officer of Gross Electric, Inc. in Toledo. Henderly immediately saw connections between some of his goals as Principal at DeVeaux and the methods business leaders like Mr. Pereus use to succeed in the corporate setting.

Ironically, Mr. Pereus used the theme of the 2009 Principal/Business Mentoring Program – Customer Service – from the moment he met Principal Henderly. Pereus asked Henderly what he felt he needed help with to be successful at DeVeaux.

“We talked about time management, how do you manage time, how do you set priorities, which are a challenge for anyone, regardless of your experience level,” said Pereus.

The pair met about three times, beginning with a get-acquainted session coupled with the program’s annual launch. A follow up breakfast meeting helped reveal the need for a focus on time management and prioritizing. “It was like having a personal trainer,” Henderly says. “It was just a very candid conversation and I think Steve extracted it out of me more than my laying everything out on the table. As he rephrased some of what I said, time management is what came to the forefront.”

To Henderly, allotting his time correctly during the school day was the ultimate way to improve customer service, meaning a better experience for the students learning at DeVeaux.

Pereus pointed out that it was crtical to determine the root cause of Henderly’s time management challenges. Pereus gave Henderly tools designed to help inventory his use of time during the school day and then a matrix that allowed Henderly to determine how much of his time was being used for the most important priorities.

When presented with the time management tools and matrix, Principal Henderly tracked his workdays for over three weeks, which revealed where most of his time was being spent. Over the summer, Henderly developed ideas to allow him to delegate some tasks to other school officials so that his time as principal is used the best that it can be. Part of being a first year principal meant steep learning curve finding out what his own staff’s responsibilities were.

“Student discipline was an issue that arose as a huge consumer of my time, and as instructional leader of the school, that is not the ideal use of my time.” In the new school year, Principal Henderly developed ideas to reduce the amount of time he spends daily on school discipline issues.

As Henderly continues along this new path, he plans to better understand his staff’s strengths and assign related projects in a way that aligns with those strengths.

Ultimately, Henderly predicts having more time available to work with classroom issues and his teaching staff, as well as the parents of his customers – DeVeaux’s student body.

Pereus views Henderly’s willingness to become aware of the gaps between priorities and how time is used caused him to succeed and grow through the Partners In Education Principal/Business Mentoring Program. “What more could you ask for?” said Pereus.

As for recommending participation in the 2010 program, Principal Henderly strongly urges his fellow administrators to take part and enjoy the benefits. Pereus agrees, saying “if anyone should be willing to learn, it should be educators.”

For more information about the Principal/Business Mentoring Program operated by Partners In Education of Toledo, please call (419) 242-2122.

View list of 2009 Principal/Business Mentoring Program Participants