is rewritten? A staff member might say to himself, “Why did I bother?
He’ll only rewrite it anyway.” Principal Pfizer used what he called his
“80 percent rule.” If the document completed was 80 percent of what he
would have done, he accepted it. Of course, he or his secretary would cor-
rect spelling and grammatical errors; however, he would ignore stylistic
issues, such as wordiness, less-than-perfect organization, and even an
inconsequential inaccuracy. If he didn’t do this, he would lessen the self-
esteem of the staff member and be seen as the dreaded micromanager.
A major area of concern for all principals is the content of school publi-
cations. There have been court cases dealing with this concern. Here are
some simple principles a school leader should remember:
- Have trusted and competent faculty members serve as advisors to
school publications. They should discuss the purposes of each publica-
tion with students so they understand their responsibilities toward their
classmates, their school, and their parents, as well as their own rights. - The principal or a trusted staff member should review newspaper,
magazine, and yearbook materials prior to publication. - A principal does not violate a student’s first amendment rights in mak-
ing revisions to these publications as long as his changes are related to
appropriate pedagogical concerns. - A principal may prohibit the publication of obscene, violent, or racist
material. - A principal may not prohibit an opinion that contains criticism of the
school.
The bottom line is that reasonable censorship is the prerogative of the
principal. However, a better way to handle such issues is to avoid them
by making sure students understand what does and does not belong in a
school publication.
Ms. Niles-Perry was fortunate to have excellent publications advisors
during her tenure as principal: One was adviser to both the school news-
paper and the literary magazine; the other handled the yearbook. They
were role models of how publications advisors should work with students,
helping them to understand their audiences (including parents and school
officials), the need for balance in all articles, and, most important of all,
Monitor the Communication 139