Maconites walkthrough schools with principals

Thirty five Maconites took on the responsibility of being principal for a day at different schools across the county Tuesday, learning about what goes into running the schools.

The Principal for a Day program spanned 30 schools in the county and was organized by OneMacon, an economic development initiative for Macon, with the Bibb County School District.

Roy Bibb, the president of MidSouth Community Federal Credit Union and a member of the district’s ESPLOST advisory committee, followed Weaver Middle Principal Dominique Nichols for the afternoon.

His temporary leadership started with the school’s CORE team meeting with the principal, assistant principals, academic coach and other central office staff. Administrators talked about the resources that go into coaching teachers.

The pair then roamed the halls as Nichols introduced Bibb to students, teachers and staff members alike, even peeking into a handful of classes to see what students were learning.

Nichols asked students in Mrs. Gales’ 7th grade English class about narrative techniques, to which one student explained the significance of point of view.

“When you come and visit and you see the engagement and you see the support behind the teachers, it’s just a lot of people doing some really good things,” Bibb said.

Nichols said the experience is good to not only educate others on what goes on in a school, but for students and teachers to see that there are people outside the building who are interested and want them to succeed.

Bibb said this is his ninth time participating in the principal for a day event. MidSouth originally started as a credit union for teachers in Bibb County.

“This is not just learning about the needs, it’s also learning about the successes,” Bibb said.

Nichols, a Macon native, is in his first year as principal at Weaver. Balancing proven teaching techniques with 21st century technology along with developing teachers who don’t come from a traditional teaching background is the “new reality” of running a school nowadays.

But the Weaver principal said he tries to lean into maintaining connections with students and the community. He said having partnerships with the community is integral to its success.

“It’s more than just the numbers and metrics, it’s the people,” Nichols told Bibb.