High School Principal

As a child, Peter Cardamone didn’t dream of becoming the principal of a high school. In fact, he majored in chemistry and math.
Cardamone, who is now the principal of Honeoye Falls - Lima High School, went to college at Cornell thinking he’d become an industrial engineer. But he soon discovered that engineering just wasn’t for him. So Cardamone connected with Cornell professors working on a learning theory project. His first assignment was to teach physics to first and second grade students. It was then that he noticed the uniqueness of the teaching profession.
Cardamone found teaching young people to be much more rewarding than working with impersonal computers. He enrolled in a curriculum and instruction master’s degree program, and is now working on a doctorate in education at the University of Rochester. When Cardamone was in high school, he didn’t know what he wanted to do. “I tell kids not to worry about that,” he says with a smile. “Figure out what you like to do and the job will figure itself out.”
Cardamone advises students to “pursue the things you like and leave yourself open.” He stresses the importance of being well-rounded, which in turn will make students more marketable. After discovering that he enjoyed teaching, Cardamone found that his varied background helped him make an easy transfer from researching science to teaching it. Before he came to HF-L High School, where he is in his second year as principal, Cardamone worked as a math and science teacher, a department coordinator, an assistant principal and a principal at four different schools. That’s quite a resume- and one Cardamone says he’s enjoyed every minute of making. “As a teacher, you directly affect maybe 100 kids or so,” he says. “As a coordinator, you can reach more (kids) and benefit them more. As a principal, you don’t get to teach as much but you have a significant effect on more students.”
Cardamone encourages what he calls, “management by walking around.” Students at HF-L High School can find him throughout the building during the school day. He might be sitting in a class, talking to students in the cafeteria or walking the halls to get a feel for what’s going on in the school. This way, Cardamone stays in direct contact with students. It also helps him show that principals aren’t just holed up in an office making arbitrary decisions. “There is no typical day at this job,” says Cardamone. “That is one of the most appealing things about it.” There’s no telling who is going to need to see or talk to him.
Cardamone says a big part of his job is seeing the right people at the right time. He says it’s not about luck, it’s about timing. The toughest part of Cardamone’s job is the deadlines. “Deadlines are tough, because you’re meeting deadlines set by other people,” he says. “You want to do a good job, which can be tough when you have this deadline to meet.”
Technology is helping school administrators to meet deadlines quicker. “Technology provides the tools to make better decisions,” Cardamone says. “Whereas they used to guess about information needed to make decisions, they can now obtain information quickly and make accurate decisions faster.”
Anyone interested in pursuing a career as a principal should study educational administration, become a teacher and work in curriculum and assessment, Cardamone says.
The role of a school principal is changing, Cardamone says. Principals are evolving from being “the boss” to being facilitators. A principal needs to know about everything from elevator construction to health codes, methods of instruction to public relations. Principals have to be community and adolescent advisors. Cardamone says that people have an inaccurate, preconceived notion of administration. He says he is always genuine with people and tells them the truth. But he is aware that some people don’t expect to be told the truth. Sometimes people are surprised to find that he is genuinely concerned. It’s the interaction with people that Cardamone finds most rewarding about his job as principal.
“You have to enjoy what you’re doing,” Cardamone says. “Life is too short to just drag yourself through work every day. Ultimately, what I’m doing is for the kids. It’s important, it’s exciting, and that’s why I like it.”

If you would like to ask Peter Cardamone any questions, e-mail him at: [email protected].

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