1. 36 Principal Leadership j u n e 2 0 0 9
elentless is the word that
staff members at Stelle
Claughton Middle
School in Houston, TX, use
to describe how they operate:
“We don’t give up on our stu-
dents, their families, or our own
commitment. We recognize that
our own attitudes, choices, and
behaviors toward our students
and about their learning have
the greatest impact on their
achieving excellence.”
The relentless pursuit of
excellence is everywhere in the
school, and it reflects Princi-
pal Delic Loyde’s approach to
staff members, students, and
instruction. No detail, no mat-
ter how small, is overlooked. A
few years ago, when the school
missed its attendance target
by a 10th of a percent, Loyde
stressed to the faculty that the
number represented only a few
students and that every adult
had a responsibility to ensure
that every student was at school
every day. The target was never
missed again and overall atten-
dance improved.
Translating percentages
and targets into actual students
By James Rourke and Marlene Hartzman
is a strategy that Loyde regu-
larly uses because “it makes the
goals personal. A ‘percent’ not
proficient can be someone else’s
students. Turning the numbers
into students gives teachers di-
rection and motivation to focus
on instruction.” So although
having 94% of students profi-
cient in reading is a significant
accomplishment, it translates
into 31 students who are not
proficient, which is unaccept-
able. Loyde believes that all 31
of those students will become
proficient with the appropriate
support strategies.
Expectations for staff mem-
bers could not be clearer. Loyde
firmly believes that achieving
excellence is about creating an
environment in which each
student can succeed. To put this
belief into action, she shares
leadership responsibilities with
more than one-third of the staff.
Although the school’s goals are
nonnegotiable, staff members,
students, and the community
all have a voice in how the goals
will be attained. Staff members
participate in interdisciplin-
ary groups called “families,” in
grade-level teams, in content
departments, and also on the
leadership council—along with
students and parents.
Expectations are also clear
for students. They know that
reaching the proficient level is
not their goal; “commended”
status is. From day one, they
are taught how to set S.M.A.R.T.
goals—specific, measurable,
attainable, reasonable, and time
bound—in their daily advisory
period. Although their annual
goals and accompanying action
plans are revisited throughout
the school year as new bench-
marks are reached, there is
an ever-present reminder that
the long-term goal is for every
student to go to college and
that is what everyone is working
toward. Hallways are decorated
with college posters, pictures,
and slogans. Every day, the
sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-
grade students pass under a
doorway banner that proudly
states, “We are college bound!”
Claughton, which opened
just six years ago, is a Title 1
school and a Texas Recognized
school, which means that in
A firm belief in the capabilities of students and staff members
and an unwavering insistence on high expectations ensure
that a new goal will be ready when the first one is met.
R
Stelle Claughton Middle School
Heart and
Excellence

2. j u n e 2 0 0 9 Principal Leadership 37
2008, all of its subgroups—­
including the 10% of students
who speak limited English and
the 9% who receive special edu-
cation services—achieved in the
exemplary range of performance
(more than 90% passing) on the
reading, writing, and social stud-
ies Texas Assessment of Knowl-
edge and Skills (TAKS) and in
the recognized range (more
than 80% passing) on the math
and science TAKS tests. More
than half of the students earned
commended status in reading,
writing, and social studies, which
means that they had a perfect
score or missed only one or two
questions on the entire test.
Collaborative Leadership
Loyde’s emphasis on high expec-
tations and her ability to bring
out the leadership potential
in staff members and students
earns her unanimous praise
from the leadership team. They
specifically cite her skill in being
able to sift out and cultivate
those with “heart and inten-
tion.” “Everybody has a voice,”
said Donna Pikus, an instruc-
tional specialist. “Principal
Loyde includes us and asks our
opinion about everything.”
Leadership potential and
collaboration are also fostered
through the leadership council,
a group of 36 family leaders,
grade-level content-team lead-
ers, department chairs, assistant
principals, and counselors.
The council meets every other
Tuesday to discuss and make
decisions about issues that affect
the students and the faculty and
staff members and serves as the
voice for the teaching staff. The
leadership council takes great
pride in the fact that the school
is a learning organization—al-
ways willing to change some-
thing that is not working. “This
is a school of possibilities,” said
Assistant Principal Sharon Gei-
ger. “It is all about relationships
and working together with each
other and our students. We work
together to be consistent.” That
consistency is fundamental to
success and is fostered through
department teams, grade-level
teams, and family teams.
The campus is organized
into family groups, in which
core-content teachers work with
the same group of students;
there are usually four teachers
to a family. This arrangement
enables interdisciplinary lesson
planning, discipline manage-
ment, brainstorming, and
information sharing. The fam-
ily teachers meet on Thursday
mornings to discuss students
There is an
ever-present
reminder that
the long-term
goal is for every
student to go
to college and
that is what
everyone is
working toward.

3. 38 Principal Leadership j u n e 2 0 0 9
and their needs. Grade-level teams
meet on Wednesdays during a com-
mon planning period; are attended by
an administrator; and allow grade-
level subject teachers to plan lessons,
discuss strategies, and analyze student
achievement. The family and grade-
level meetings are complemented by
the department meetings that are held
twice a month on Wednesdays. Teach-
ers share strategies, resources, data,
and other information that is relevant
to their content areas.
Loyde also includes staff members
in the hiring process, which was an
important task at the beginning of her
tenure because by the end of its first
year of operation, she was the school’s
third principal and had witnessed a
33% turnover of staff members. She
looks for the four Cs in candidates:
caring, compassionate, competitive,
and a little bit crazy. Prospective teach-
ers must teach a lesson to the inter-
viewing staff members, lead a discus-
sion, and then answer two questions:
Can you dance or sing? What makes
you mad? Loyde believes the answers
to these questions get to the heart of
a person. The school’s goal is obvi-
ously to find the right match of heart
and excellence. Since Loyde’s first year,
teacher turnover has been minimal.
To ensure that parents feel comfort-
able, the school developed the parent
center, a welcome room for parents
where they can use computers and get
information about the school. Ac-
cording to Assistant Principal Hayden
Solomon, “The key is to get parents on
board. We get to know the parents….
We are community based. We don’t
have all the answers, but we do have
systems in place to get the job done.”
Personalization
Giving students an environment that
is conducive to learning as well as the
personal connections that support
academic and individual develop-
ment is essential to student success.
It must be heartening to the faculty
to hear statements like those shared
by Claughton students: “Teachers are
devoted to us—they want us to suc-
ceed. They don’t let us fail. They don’t
give up.” And perhaps most indicative
of the environment the school of-
fers, when a student was asked about
Claughton being a home away from
home, the student responded: “No,
this is home!”
In addition to a strong National
Junior Honor Society and an extensive
selection of clubs and activities, how
does Claughton make students feel
at home? It starts when sixth graders
come in and find that they have their
own wing (each grade does) and their
own lunch period. All students are
also placed into a family group and
participate in a daily advisory and aca-
demic enrichment period that delivers
content-based lessons with social skill
reinforcers built in. Teachers designed
the lessons—some differentiated by
grade level, others for schoolwide
use—which students call their “extra
dose of learning.” Other initiatives
include a teen leadership class; a
“stamp out bullying” program; peer
mediation; and Mix-It-Up, a program
that fosters peer interactions among
diverse students. In addition, counsel-
Seated at left: Principal Delic Loyde makes teaching and learning personal for everyone involved.

4. j u n e 2 0 0 9 Principal Leadership 39
ors visit classrooms to teach life skills
and offer a counseling corner in the
cafeteria during every lunch period.
Typifying the importance that the
staff places on the personal touch
and high expectations, the principal
meets with every student who is in the
lower quartile of achievement and, if
possible, his or her parent or guardian,
to discuss interventions and promote
achievement.
The foundation for all of these
initiatives is a belief in high expecta-
tions, which is reflected the school
slogan, We are college bound. That
focus is epitomized by a paper titled
“My Future” that all eighth graders
complete and display on their lockers.
In the paper, students describe and
illustrate a career that they’d like to
explore as well as one they’d like to
avoid. The intent of the assignment
is to show students that they can do
anything they choose as long as they
are prepared. Claughton’s career center
and an elective class in career investi-
gations help students understand the
opportunities that are available—and
how they can prepare to take advan-
tage of them. Building expectations for
higher education is further empha-
sized through the school’s work with
Texas A&M to incorporate the Kids to
College program.
Curriculum, Instruction,
and Assessment
“Everything we do is logical—we plan
for achievement,” said Loyde. Bench-
mark assessments are given three
times a year, and the results enable
teachers to address the specific aca-
demic needs of students through the
regular curriculum; specialized tutorial
programs before and after school; and
other interventions, such as Read 180,
Autoskills (math/reading), Neufeld,
and MySatori. Faculty members are
charged with designing lessons that
challenge students to realize their
potential. Teachers have studied and
received professional development
in the rigor and relevance framework
and Philip Schlechty’s Working on the
Work framework to help them meet
that challenge.
How do teachers know that
students are being challenged? “We
[the administrators] are in classes
every day [to help close the achieve-
ment gap],” said Loyde. Getting the
school leaders into the classrooms
is part of an effort to ensure that the
instructional emphasis is on engaging
students in all classes and activities—
no passive instruction or learning is
allowed. Leadership council mem-
bers use a reflective walk-through
model to improve instruction. The
staff attributes significant growth in
achievement—­especially in math—to
changes in instructional delivery and
to the adoption of the LESA (launch
inquiry, explore, summarize, and as-
sess) model. Math class size was also
lowered to support this objective.
Claughton has moved to an inclu-
sion model for special education that
improves achievement for all students.
This thrust to reach each student has
prompted the school to mandate after-
school tutorials, require teachers to
tutor students two days a week, use in-
structional specialists for reading and
math, and offer pull-out support. And
to help students prepare for state test-
ing, Claughton offers TAKS Saturdays
15 times a year in various subjects;
attendance is voluntary for most but
mandatory for struggling students.
To facilitate outreach to each
student, the school created the Instruc-
tional Extension Center, an in-school
suspension program that focuses on
academics and character building.
Disciplinary management reinforcers
replace traditional detention. Sessions
are held after school on Fridays and
Saturdays, provide additional instruc-
tional support, and include parent
involvement.
Interventions for success do not
end when the school year ends. A
four-to-six-week summer program
provides hands-on lessons to help
students develop improved math and
reading skills.
Conclusion
“Mission possible” was the school’s
motto from its inception when its
goal was to become a Texas Education
Agency (TEA) Recognized School. In
2008, six years after opening, Claugh-
ton could say, Mission achieved!
When the school became a recognized
school, staff members could have said,
“We’re there. We’ve made it. No need
to do more.” But they didn’t. Instead,
they revised the motto to “Excellence
in every endeavor.” Their goal is now
to be a TEA Exemplary School. When
the staff begins to feel overwhelmed
by the challenges, the principal tells
them that they can’t be—that together
they need to find a way that will work;
that she expects more; and more
importantly, that their students are
entitled to more. They need to be, in a
word, relentless. PL
Stelle Claughton
Middle School
Houston, TX
Grades: 6–8
Enrollment: 1,500
Community: Suburban
Demographic: 58% Black,
37% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 1% White;
74% free and reduced-priced meals
Administrative team: 1 principal,
4 assistant principals
Faculty: 97 certified instructors