Points of Practice October 2014 | Page 24

Solution #4: Empower Principals and Their Teams Michael Wiltshire arrived at a school with a 63 percent graduation rate, a reputation for violence, and a cloud of apathy hanging over students and teachers when he became principal of Medgar Evers College Preparatory School nearly 15 years ago. One of his first reforms: making daily visits to a nearby store and rounding up kids skipping school. Initially some resisted, but Wiltshire persisted. That persistence eventually convinced students that he cared, and they also began caring. “We first have to have that 24 25