In honor of AP Week, April 6–10, School of Thought asked Jana Clark, the principal of Boyd Elementary School in Boyd, TX, to highlight the stellar work of Cortnie Bryan, the assistant principal. In many schools, it’s work that often goes unseen. But it’s vital to the success of all school communities PreK–12.
How does AP Bryan make your school better?
We started at Boyd Elementary the same year, so she’s been by my side since the beginning. She’s so student-centered and has an innovative mindset. We set attendance goals for our first year by building a culture of belonging. Mrs. Bryan was at the center of that. She thinks of something and implements it immediately.
For example, she got us all playing a “Jacketopoly” game based on Monopoly but named after our mascot, the Yellowjackets. Every day each grade hits their attendance goals, they color in a square. When they have five squares colored in, they can move their piece on the board and get prizes like popcorn, an extra recess, or a lemonade stand. We are both advocates of student voice, and these are all rewards the students have chosen.
And let me tell you about this lemonade stand. In my head, I pictured a little table with a pitcher of lemonade and some cups. But no. I came into work the next Monday morning, and Mrs. Bryan built a beautiful wooden lemonade stand that was like something out of a movie. She is always making the school better because she turns her passion into action that benefits our culture and our students.
It sounds like there is a lot of trust in your relationship.
Absolutely. I trust that Mrs. Bryan will not only help me meet our goals, but she will also make sure we exceed them. Another example of an idea she brought to life is our Experience Room where we provide hands-on learning for kindergarteners and first graders. She designed the entire room in a construction theme. Every station is built around phonics, and each station fully immerses children in learning letters and sounds through play. That’s what kindergartners need to do, and Mrs. Bryan created a beautiful experience where students can dig through sand with excavators to find letters. And if that wasn’t enough, she reached out to a local construction company that visited the school with a crane so the students could be even more engaged in the Experience Room.
Trust is incredibly important with an assistant principal and Mrs. Bryan has earned that trust. She won’t let anything fail.
You were a successful assistant principal yourself. Has serving as an AP made it more difficult or easier to work with your AP now that you are a principal?
It’s helped me better connect with and support Mrs. Bryan. Having been in the role, I understand the rhythms of the school year in a very real way. I know what October looks like, when the pace picks up, and small issues begin to stack up. I also recognize the look of testing season, when the pressure and responsibility of making everything run smoothly can be intense.
Having walked in those shoes allows me to better support her. I understand the importance of checking in, sharing the load when possible, and acknowledging the work that often goes unseen.
Because I once did it myself, I have great respect for the complexity of the job. This shared experience strengthens our collaboration and helps us work as a more cohesive leadership team, ultimately benefiting both our staff and students.
For more on AP Week, visit nassp.org/apweek.