All the actions described above, from the items in the parent newslet-
ter to the lesson taught to the student verification form, were designed to
defuse a problem looming for the final days of the school year. They also
illustrate another important task of every school leader implicit in many of
the principles described in this book: Always have a paper trail.
Some potential issues involve the school neighborhood. Most rural and
many suburban schools are isolated, away from residential and business
areas. Principals of these schools will have few, if any, neighborhood is-
sues. Principals of urban schools, however, frequently face them.
Ms. Valletta’s Manhattan High School was located in the middle of a
residential block in New York City’s Chelsea area. During her long tenure
as principal, the neighborhood moved up the socioeconomic ladder, way
up. At first, there were periodic telephone calls from neighbors (who ap-
parently spent their days looking out their windows at the school) about
two students fighting in a classroom or a student throwing something or
other out the window. The assistant principal in charge of school security
investigated these matters and then telephoned the caller to assure him or
her that the matter was being handled. However, it is always better to be
proactive rather than reactive.
One issue that was particularly annoying to the neighborhood residents
was students sitting on the steps of their brownstones, sometimes blocking
egress and often leaving fast food wrappings in their wake. This was an
issue that could be addressed proactively.
Beginning on the first day of school in September, Ms. Valletta began
patrolling outside the building about twenty minutes before the beginning
of the first period class. During a one-hour patrol, she would walk up and
down the block and across the street, ushering students into the school
building or to a position in front of the school building. She developed a
script to admonish students on the steps of a brownstone:
Good morning! I’m glad to see you’re early for school today. We have
a good neighbor policy: We don’t sit on our neighbors’ property. Please,
move on to school property—the sidewalk in front of the school—or, even
better, go to the cafeteria where breakfast is being served and you could just
sit and relax until your first class begins. Don’t forget to take your garbage
with you.18 Chapter 2