Qadir Dixon knows the value of a good pair of shoes.
When Dixon, principal of Renaissance Leadership Academy—a K-8 public school on 129th Street and Amsterdam Avenue—noticed that one of his students wasn’t wearing the required school uniform, he had teachers pool money to purchase the child a new set of pants, shirts, and a tie.
“I’m going to personally buy him a pair of shoes and teach him how to shine his shoes,” Dixon said, adding, “With little things like that, he appreciates it.”
Renaissance Leadership Academy was one of 889 New York City public schools to receive an A on its 2008-09 Progress Report. Unlike most of those schools, though, RLA’s 2007 grade was an F.
According to several teachers, administrators, and parents, Dixon—who they say takes the time to notice something as small as one student’s shoes—has been the driving force behind that change.
After taking over leadership of RLA two years ago, Dixon implemented a school uniform policy, classes were made single-gender, and there was significant turnover among the teaching staff.
“I met with all of the students and told them that we’re headed for success,” Dixon said of his first days on the job. “We don’t have a choice. Anyone who’s in our school, you don’t have a choice but to be successful.”
RLA administrators and faculty members said that the improvement involves more than just raising test scores.
Nicole Shamberger, an administrator at RLA for the past eight years, said that the school’s atmosphere has completely changed as a result of Dixon’s hands-on leadership.
“He’s not just a principal who’s behind closed doors,” Shamberger said. “He’s open to his teachers, his students, just embracing the students and shaking their hand in the morning.”
Dixon said that he has also changed the school’s philosophy toward discipline so that now “we don’t talk down, we talk up to our students.” Instead of pointless scolding, Dixon said that teachers should hold students accountable for maximizing their potential.
Eighth grade humanities teacher Jeanette De Jesus agreed, saying, “You are their parents, you are their social workers, you are their teachers, you are their guidance counselors, and you are their disciplinarians.”
But the environment was not always this intense and energetic according to De Jesus. “It was an F school, and it was an F school in every sense of being an F school,” she said, adding, “And I think Mr. Dixon came in saying this school will be an A school, and everything that was done was to support that belief or was driven by that belief. And he makes you believe it, too.”
Dixon also revised the budget to allow for student field trips to Harvard University and Philadelphia as well as additional professional development programs.
“When you’re centered around what’s best for the children, it makes it a lot easier to stay here to 12:00 at night writing grants,” he said.
He also noted that his success required a serious reevaluation of the faculty. In the past, some teachers had fallen into a routine that did little to benefit the students. “They didn’t really have to do what was best for children, it was the teachers against the students but the teachers would win, because they were the adults and it was really that kind of antagonistic, toxic environment.”
De Jesus said that the new staff now has a shared vision for the school.
“I don’t necessarily think it was cleaning house, I think it really was the realization of what fits where. Not everybody fits everywhere, it doesn’t make you a bad teacher, it just means that maybe this school’s culture, this style isn’t yours,” De Jesus said.
Dixon stated that being available for his students is paramount. And many agreed that this effort has not gone unnoticed.
“He gives us tips on life, and how people go through stuff with girls and all that, and fights,” eighth grader Kelwin Medina said, adding, “He gives us pointers to make our life better.”
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