Friday 16 June 2017

Principal Brian Jones: Turning Low Performers into High Achievers

Brian Jones, former principal of Guilford Elementary/Middle pre-k-8th grade in Baltimore, Maryland, is recognized for his efforts in helping the school improve. 


Principal Brian Jones was the principal from 2010 to 2016, and at that time contributed to improving aspects such as attendance rates and suspensions... Read complete post at medium

Monday 12 June 2017

Principal Brian Jones: Helping a Struggling Teacher

Like many school principals, Brian Jones has dealt with underperformance from his teaching staff at some point. As the principal at Guilford Elementary/Middle School Pre-k-8th grade in Baltimore, Maryland he collaborated with stakeholders to define the school’s goal and facilitate continuous improvement in all areas. Principal Brian Jones also provided evaluative feedback for twenty-nine instructional staff.


"I have transformed a low-performing school into a school that fosters high expectations for both teachers and students,' he added.

So, how can you help under-performing teachers?

Provide honest feedback
Providing an accurate assessment of the teacher's capabilities is important. Providing this feedback requires you to be specific and focus on the main issues. This also applies when you want to point out conduct issues as well.


Focus on particular areas
Thanks to the specific feedback you provided, the teacher has an area of improvement to focus on. But what if you identified numerous sectors that require intervention?
In such instances, you don't want to overwhelm the teacher and impede progress. While you ought to point out all the areas, you can make things more manageable by focusing on a few areas that would bring significant change quickly. If there's a lot to handle, take a few steps at a time to build confidence. If they are struggling to keep up, you don't want to overload them.


Visualize success
You need to agree on what constitutes success. Numbers are good because they are objective, but not everything can be measured numerically. You are encouraged to discuss what will signify the accomplishment of individual goals; a picture of success, if you will. The clearer this picture is the better the chances of the teacher achieving them.

Provide support

It sounds easy, but can be implemented poorly in reality. As Principal Brian Jones knows, you have to work in close collaboration with the teacher to understand the kind of support they require. Just like students, teachers have their preferred ways of knowing things.

Thursday 1 June 2017

Principal Brian Jones: Learning Accomplishments

Principal Brian Jones attended the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, where he graduated in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in English as a Second Language (ESL) and Spanish. 


Principal Brian Jones later attended the City University of New York for his master's in English Literature and Technology. Jones is fully bilingual in Spanish and English. 

Wednesday 3 May 2017

Principal Brian Jones is An Experienced Educator

Principal Brian Jones, most recently of Guilford Elementary/Middle School in his native Baltimore City, Maryland, is an experienced educator who has worked in several struggling and failing schools in his long career, helping establish new modes of education and success everywhere he goes. Jones graduated from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor’s degree in English as a Second Language. He earned this degree in Puerto Rico despite moving there before he knew a word of Spanish.


Principal Brian Jones used his degree to teach students in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood, helping students freshly-arrived from the Dominican Republic and elsewhere adjust to their new environment and learn as much as they could in school. Jones used his skills in communication, specifically with Spanish-speaking children, to build his career from there and eventually become the principal of several schools in his career. Educators with specific communication skills are invaluable to the education systems in which they work because teachers and administrators often struggle with some of the more marginalized children in their communities.


Principal Brian Jones is bilingual and ready to help students succeed in every facet of their educational lives. He has helped many students find solutions that work for their situation. 

Sunday 19 March 2017

Principal Brian Jones Works for Both Gifted and At Risk Students

Principal Brian Jones supports teachers in improving the performance of gifted and at risk students.  Facilitating adult professional development to turn around low performance scores and focus on a united front of achievement is a specialty of PrincipalBrian Jones.  


Saturday 11 March 2017

Principal Brian Jones Heavily Licensed

As a professional educator and administrator, Principal Brian Jones holds certifications and licensures attesting to his academic abilities.  Jones has a NYS School Leader certification and an Endorsement in Administrator I and II certifications.  Jones has an Advanced Professional Certification in English as a Second Language and an Advanced Professional Certification in English for grades 7 through 12.  Jones’ academic preparation for his career has great depth, starting with his Bachelor of Arts in English as a Second Language and Spanish.  Jones earned his Bachelor’s at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.  It was in these initial stages of his academic development that Jones became fully bilingual in both Spanish and English, earning his Degree in 2001.

Principal Brian Jones wasted no time upon earning his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 2001, and he embarked upon his Master of Arts in English Literature and Technology at the City University of New York in New York State of the United States.  Jones focused upon a concentration in grades 7 through 12 instruction, earning his Master’s in 2004.  Making a decision to work in school administration, Jones studied for a Master’s of Science Degree in Administration and Supervision with a concentration in school supervision and leadership.

Friday 3 March 2017

Principal Brian Jones Certified by Puerto Rico Board of Education

Based in Baltimore City, Maryland, Principal Brian Jones has based his academic career on a wide variety of pertinent and valuable skills which have proved irreplaceable in his service toolbox as an educator.  Jones has been certified by the Board of Education of Puerto Rico as an instructor and supervisor of bilingual education, able to actively participate and affect the teaching of both languages through his bilingualism in reading, writing and speaking of English and Spanish.  Jones’ bilingual abilities have become increasingly more important to students in American schools.  Jones was trained in the analysis and use of student and teacher data to inform his decisions about increasing student achievement in his district.  Sponsored by the National Institute for School Leadership (NISL), Jones’ training involved skills of identification for the best instruction for literacy, mathematics and science. 



Jones has regularly facilitated trainings and professional developments from 2008 through today in a variety of important faculty instructional areas, including using state test scores to measure student gains, writing instructional objectives, managing at risk youth and differentiating instruction among others.