Ms. Lockard welcomed students to the school this year with a bit of information concerning some changes in our administration: Mr. Bennie Green now has the title of “Principal Intern.” What on earth does that mean?
Last year, Mr. Green held the position of Assistant Principal. This year, he is still the Assistant Principal, but with some added responsibilities. He is basically a shadow of Ms. Lockard, attending meetings and helping her process the information gained from them. “I get to be an even bigger part of the decision making process than I was before,” says Green.
As principal intern, Mr. Green obtains information firsthand and at the same time Ms. Lockard does. “It gives me a new sense of importance. I can really make more of a difference.”
Though he has many new responsibilities as Principal Intern, Green’s duties as an Assistant Principal are not cut back. “Now I have twice the amount of work,” says Green about his new workload, “but, I don’t mind”. Ms. Lockard’s duties, however, are not lessened by Green’s new ones.
The Principal Intern program is actually part of a larger MCPS program designed to train administrative staff. “This is just a small step in the whole program,” says Green. The idea is to train Assistant Principals so they are better prepared as Principals whenever the time may come.
Going through the program doesn’t automatically make one a Principal. To be made Principal, one has to have enough experience. The Principal Internship gives you that experience.
Green’s wife went through the Principal Intern Program and is currently the Assistant Principal at Kennedy High School.
“It’s nice to have someone close to me who I am able to talk about work with.”, Green says. Green and his wife wanted to be Principal Intern at the same time, but he was not recommended by the community superintendant, Mr. Frank Stetson, until the end of last year. Ms. Lockard was never recommended into the program, but two years ago she worked closely with Mr. Bulson, our previous principal. Her work was similar to what Mr. Green is doing right now, only it wasn’t as formal as the Principal Internship.
The biggest part of the Principal Internship is coming on October 26. For an entire month, Green will hold the position of acting Principal while Ms. Lockard will be out of the building working on a special project.
While Mr. Green is Principal, he will take on all the responsibilities that Ms. Lockard currently holds. He will be the one students hear for important announcements, the one talking during assemblies, and the one walking around the hallways “checking-in” on all our activities.
After this year, Green may continue being Assistant Principal at B-CC, or he could be transferred to another school to be Principal. “The whole thing is very open,” says Green.
