lanuary 31. 2007
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Jefferson Leader Rolls with Changes
continued
from Front
‘‘I'm willing to take the hits, whatever
they are.”
Dudley has held five principal positions
in the past seven years. He explains that the
constant shut tle in hiscareer isn’t hy choice.
Currently he rents an apartment at Jantzen
Beach in north Portland without his wile,
who still lives in Dallas. He says he doesn't
know when his spouse w ill join him.
With his track record, w ill Dudley be the
principal o f today's freshmen, the graduat­
ing class of 2010?
‘‘Ooh, I'd love that." Dudley said. "People
ask me weekly, 'why would you come here,
why would you do this?' I tell them I'm
purpose-driven."
But he entered his position somewhat ill
informed: He hadn't even read his contract
before arriving, and having never walked
the Jefferson halls, the school’s diminutive
staff and lack of structural basics like a
public address system shocked him.
"What I am accustomed to doesn’t even
come close to what I have here," he said.
Hebeganimplementingchanges ¡nearly
fall by closing the campus during lunch. He
has locked the doors to all but two main
entrances, and requires students and staff
to wear ID tags around their necks.
He’s added staff to the main office, and
the district's introduction of a business
manager for Jefferson and Wilson High
School clusters has redirected issues that
kept staff from their job focus. Business
manager Reis Wilbanks holds the position
A no-nonsense style
has earned Jefferson
High School Principal
Leon Dudley admiration
from many but has
also brought new
tensions to the school
serving north and
northeast Portland.
photo by P eter
F ranzen /
T he P orti . and O bserver
at both schools, acting as liaison between
teaching and administrative staff and the
district office, and dealing with budgeting
issues and volunteering schedules.
Dudley has also detailed a plan to “get
rolling" by adding four key staff positions
- an extra security official posted at the
school’s Kerby Avenue entrance, a regis­
trar to track attendance, a dean ot instruc­
tion to focus on curriculum and instruction
(in addition to the two deans of discipline),
and a community liaison.
Phillips said the district has worked with
ber, Wilbanks observed that much of the
staff would not talk to her or each other.
“They would just stare at me,” she said.
“The students could feel it.”
Dudley says the only way to get results
is to break down these barriers. He has
created a parent contact log and has a color-
coded folder documenting times, dates, ad­
dresses and phone numbers of every stu­
dent he meets with.
He regularly meets with Portland Com­
munity College Cascade President Algie
Gatewood to increase the two schools’
Jefferson in placing leaders at the four new
academies, and is exploring grants for tech­
nology equipment such as a PA system,
despite an "extraordinarily flat" budget this
year.
But Dudley's focus for his first school
year is more fundamental - he wants to build
relationships with students and staff. He is
aware many students and teachers don’t
trust him, and knows biases are stacked
high against any principal.
But thechilly reception isn’tjustaimed at
the principal. Arriving as a new staff mem­
Focus on Civil
Rights, Art and Jazz
continued
from Front
culture, W eston counts Cecil Payne,
Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, and
Thelonious Monk among his friends and
teachers.
Robin D.G. Kelley, a widely respected
African American scholar, activist and
author, will present a talk titled "Jazz and
freedom go hand in hand: Thelonious
Monk plays the ‘60s." on Monday, Feb. 12
at 8 p.m. at Reed’s Vollum Lecture Hall.
Kelley’s work as a historian is focused
on the black w orking class and the
“Confrontation at the
Bridge" depicts the 1965
civil rights march from
Selma to Montgomery, Ala.
The original silkscreen print
by the late African American
artist Jacob Lawrence is on
view at Reed College for
Black History Month.
neoconservative demonization of the ur­
ban poor. He is a professor of history and
A frican and A m erican stu d ies and
ethnicity at USC. His current project—a
biography of Thelonious Monk— results
from years of support from the Monk
family, including unprecedented access
to the Monk Institute's historical docu­
ments and archives.
Once again, the Portland Jazz Festival
and Reed College team up to present "The
Incredible Journey of Jazz"— a special
program designed for school-age children
and thei r parents— as a free, publ ic pert or-
manceon Monday, Feb. 19at2p.m. in Kaul
Auditorium.
This 75-minute program presented by
the Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute tells the
story of jazz from its roots in African music
and culture, through its development in
the United States, to its current role as one
of America's most treasured contributions
to world culture.
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partnership. He also says he’s already im­
proved involvement of the Parent Teacher
Association and the Jefferson site-based
decision council, whom he described as
previously marginalized.
"My report card for him is good so far,”
said Glenda Walker, president of the
Jefferson PTSA. "I'm trying to understand
his vision. We too have visions, and hope­
fully hisdirection will be one we agree with.”
Dudley is especially proud of a series of
staff retreats, the second and most recent
one taking place near the Columbia River
Gorge and attended by 32 staff members
and parents.
These weekend getaways are meant to
“define a mission and the vision.' A third
retreat is planned for March.
"We spent 11 hours over the weekend
talking about trust at Jefferson,” he said.
“We were not having those kinds of con­
versations here. That was huge and you can
feel it.”
This year’s seniors have seen changes in
leadership, staff and in academic structure
nearly every year of their high school career.
Some say they don't like the rules Dudley
has brought to the school, but they appre­
ciate his efforts to engage with them when
he's not away at conferences or visiting
family back inTexas.
“He’s try ing to do a lot but he can’t,” said
senior Lillian Peters. "Everybody is trying
to bring him down.”
Senior Kemiyia Hunt said she feels he
has brought about improvements, “but af­
ter so long, how can you change things so
quickly?”
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