Fiona Thomas, the principal and co-founder of Pride Academy Charter School in East Orange, was honored Friday as the “Charter School Administrator of the Year” at the New Jersey Charter Schools Association (NJCSA) Annual Conference in Princeton.
The two-day conference in Princeton, attended by more than 600 hundred educators, parents and supporters of New Jersey’s growing charter school movement, spotlighted the many achievements of the state’s 73 charter schools and featured discussions among state and national leaders about how charter schools are transforming public education.
“I am honored to be able to accept this award on behalf of our whole school community, our parents and our staff,” Thomas said. “There is an urgency in what we do. We need to stop and celebrate the joy because it matters and it counts.”
Thomas was among a select group of educators to receive the Cultivating Quality Education Awards for their contributions in 2010. The awards were judged by a panel of three independent education experts.
Also recognized as “Administrator of the Year” was Rahshene Davis of University Heights Charter School in Newark. Nikki Jones, an eighth-grade English teacher at North Star Academy Charter School in Newark, was honored as “Teacher of the Year” and Daniel Weisz of the Hoboken Charter School was recognized as “Advocate of the Year.”
“Fiona reflects the strong commitment, involvement and passion that makes charter schools successful,” said Carlos Perez, president & CEO of the NJCSA. “This award honors Fiona for doing her part to enhance public education and helping ensure that all public schools are quality schools.”
Ken Zimmerman, an attorney with Lowenstein Sandler and a member of the NJCSA board, presented the award to Thomas.
At Pride Academy, Thomas is known for her work ethic and her passion for excellence, social justice, and creating life-long learners.
Visitors to Pride often hear Thomas’ rallying cry: “We can do this, and we will do this, together!” These words are not a hollow slogan. The “together” promise rings true through her never-ending willingness to work side-by-side with all members of Pride’s community.
“Rather than fear that a task might diminish her administrative prowess, she humbly offers herself as the ultimate servant-leader,” said Rose Mary Dumenigo, the vice principal of Pride Academy, who nominated Thomas for the award. “There is simply no job too small, too lowly, too dangerous, or too messy for Fiona.”
In addition to her traditional responsibilities as principal, Thomas serves cheerfully as greeter, crossing guard, lunch lady, bus coordinator, janitor, nurse, counselor, referee and mediator for students and staff, laundress of all unclaimed Pride gear, wardrobe manager for out-of-uniform students, and fashion policeman on dress-down days.
“She has handled leaky roofs, spewing radiators, misplaced vermin, furnace malfunctions, and bathroom mishaps with unshakeable calm,” Dumenigo said. “She not only never takes credit for accomplishments, but also humbly and consistently steps forward to apologize and take responsibility for others.”
Thomas constantly provides opportunities for others to learn, to lead, and to shine. Teachers are addressed as experts in their craft and valued for their contributions to Pride Academy and its mission. As a result, Pride is a thriving professional learning community where teachers work collaboratively to learn and share best practices.
Faced with the challenge of maintaining high teacher performance without risking teacher burn-out, Thomas developed Pride’s “In-School Off Day,” during which teachers are relieved of their teaching responsibilities to work on special projects and assessment data collection. She also created “We Time Wednesdays,” an additional in-school period devoted to peer-led workshops and seminars for all staff.
Thomas, along with parent leaders, instituted a parent-incentive program that rewards parents for their involvement during the school term with opportunities to win prizes at Pride’s end-of-the-year annual Tricky Tray.
Thomas has also implemented “Family Learning Nights” during which families are invited to attend Pride in the evening with their children to learn family-friendly games and activities that promote learning together at home.
Thomas also fostered a school-wide co-teaching model. Co-teaching began in Pride’s first year, when Thomas collaborated with the special education teachers to develop a full-inclusion program to support Pride’s numerous special needs learners. Thomas grew the program in the second year by adding four additional teachers.
“Although these additional hires meant that Pride would not be able to hire cafeteria support staff, and that she would need to continue to serve lunch and assist with the clean up for two periods every day to cover the new costs, Thomas did so without hesitation, knowing the benefits and power of peer teaching partnerships,” Dumenigo said.
The co-teaching model has developed and grown into an essential element to Pride Academy’s success and recognition as an excellent academic program for students of all ability levels. As a result, Pride Academy has successfully achieved Adequate Yearly Progress and has been able to achieve noticeable academic growth in its students.
One example of such growth is in student reading levels. More than 100 at-risk students were assessed on their reading levels in October 2009. When students were re-assessed in May 2010 after learning under the co-teaching model, Pride saw dramatic improvements.
“Successes such as these have been made possible only through Fiona’s strength and courage,” Dumenigo said. “As Pride’s servant, Mrs. Thomas embraces humility, unafraid to step out of the traditional principal role. As Pride’s leader, she possesses the courage and confidence to step back and allow others to lead and shine. Most importantly, as Pride’s primary learner, she is brave enough to seek honest critique and to then take strong action to remedy problems and to affect lasting change.”
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