New principal takes tough stances at Sacramento's Hiram Johnson High
Published: Saturday, Jun. 19, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Can deep-cleaning a school and adding a teacher dress code help students learn better?
That's the question of the moment at Hiram Johnson High School, where teachers this week found themselves tossing out posters, art projects and learning materials to meet a Monday deadline for clearing their classrooms.
It's all part of newly hired Principal Felisberto Cedros' plan to reverse the school's negative image. Task one: appearance. Task two: achievement.
Teachers worry Cedros may be preparing to clean house in another way, too, and they wonder how soap and paint relate to test scores.
"Paranoia is running rampant," said English teacher Toni Crandall.
Before Cedros took the post, he visited the campus just off 65th Street. What he found troubled the self-described "clean freak."
Classrooms were cluttered and dusty. The locker rooms were "embarrassing." The overall image he was left with, he said, was disorganization.
"Is it about cleanliness, no," Cedros said. "It's a part of the package deal of setting a tone for the environment."
That package includes a stricter dress code for teachers – no jeans, shorts, tennis shoes or T-shirts – which he told staff he is "absolutely adamant about."
"So, do not go there with me, because you will lose," Cedros told a room full of teach
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/19/2833879/new-principal-takes-tough-stances.html#ixzz0rJ7KceZg
