| Show 4 sleeves and work that much harder" Later when I listened to a tape of our conversation I realized that po- lice and ambulance sirens had pierced the Bronx air again and again on that warm afternoon But the new principal of James Monroe High School had a presence and a message that made those interruptions insignificant Like all profound messages his was deceptively simple: "I'm interested in convincing youngsters that education makes a difference that if they're living in an environment full of unfulfilled dreams they have the potential and the ability to make some changes to dig down inside themselves to pull themselves up I'm not telling them it's fair These kids have to work harder than other kids I'm just trying to convince them that if they work hard they can make it" You might mistake the ideJimmie Warren for a starry-eye- d alist When we talked he was just a month into his assignment at James Monroe a troubled school where test scores and graduation rates have been falling for decades Any new principal might be overflowing with optimism before he realized just how tough a job he had taken on But Jimmie Warren is different Monroe is the fourth troubled high school he has run in this decade New York City's Board of Education has recognized him as one of its best principals Six years ago he took over William H Taft High another Bronx school that had been called the city's worst The day we spoke Warren had on his desk a letter from the Department of Education in Washington DC announcing that Taft had been chosen as a finalist in a national program to recognize superior schools Almost any expert would have told you that the problems at Taft defied solution: 84 percent of the kids were on public assistance and 16 percent couldn't speak English proficiently Only two of the 2500 scored well enough on standardized tests to earn a Regents diploma—a recognition of achievement that more than 90 percent of the students earn in some top New York schools "Taft was near the top of every negative list the city produced" Principal Warren remembered "It had one of the highest dropout rates just about the lowest attendance and achievement rates nearly the highest suspension rate The school had a very bad reputation I had kids coming into my office with tears in their eyes saying 'We don't HOW TO SPOT A MET LIFE REPRESENTATIVE FULL OF 600P !PEAS EYE ON THE FUTURE 0 REAPS' TO LISTEN 5ERVICE WITI4 A (FLOPPY EARS OPTIONAL) 5MILE 1 la r-- 0 HELPIN6 14AND BOW TIE BRIEFCASE CONCERNED AND CARIN6 Mira )(C MET LIFE CeA L060 GET MET IT PAYS: 11 i 'AIt!!AtrAl RTCOMPANIES continued 4 0 PARADE MAGAZINE SEPNMBER 3 1989 PAGE 15 ©1989 Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY NY SNOOPY 0 1958 United Feature Syndicate In |
