PHOTO BY MATT NAGLE

A group of students at Alice V. Hedden Elementary School gather around their principal, Julia Grubiak, who inspired them to set goals for reading books during summer break.

Principal achieves goal, inspires students

By Matt Nagle

Over this past school term, Alice V. Hedden Elementary School Principal Julia Grubiak achieved an accomplishment that undoubtedly few school principals can lay claim to: she read one-on-one with every student in the school, all 427 of them.

â??Itâ??s a lot of kids, but itâ??s one of the most rewarding goals Iâ??ve ever set,â?? she commented. â??Iâ??m modeling for the kids that even their principal sets goals, and it gives me a way to let kids know how important reading is to me because itâ??s the foundation of everything you do.â??

The personal goal she set for herself also offered Grubiak the opportunity to get out of her office and into the classrooms, something she misses when her responsibilities as principal keep her office-bound. Making that personal connection with each student individually â??is very rewarding for me and a lot of fun,â?? Grubiak remarked. â??One of the joys of being a school principal is being with kids.â??

To keep to her commitment, Grubiak said, she scheduled a block of time during which she would read with the students and keep that appointment just like she would any other.

For the students, it was a little intimidating at first to have face-to-face time with the school principal. â??Sometimes there are kids you see in your office for other reasons and here Iâ??m going to them and Iâ??m reading to them, and itâ??s not because they had a problem; itâ??s because I want to spend time with them,â?? Grubiak noted.

â??It was exciting and fun, but I was a little nervous,â?? said second-grader Amanda Talmadge. Looking back on the experience, â??I thought it was really cool because at my other school the principal made goals but never really went for them, and Mrs. Grubiak really went for hers and Iâ??m proud of her.â??

Talmadge added that over the summer, she plans to read â??at least 25-40 minutes a day.â??

Jacob Elder, a fourth-grader, said her goal is to read 1,000 minutes a month during the summer.

Third-grader Maddie Centen said this summer she has set a goal to finish the eight-volume series â??The Baby-Sitters Club.â??

Fifth-grader Courtney Schwan said, â??I thought it actually was really cool because a lot of kids donâ??t get to interact with their principal.â?? Over the summer, she plans to finish the Harry Potter series and read 30 minutes a day.

After reading with their principal, each student received a purple button with the words â??I Read with Mrs. Grubiakâ?? on it. In a handwritten letter to her principal, one of over 25 Grubiak received from appreciative students, third-grader Noemi Gallegos stated: â??Congratulations on reaching your goal. You really did a nice job. Also, I still have my purple button.... I keep it in a box because I donâ??t want my brother to get it. Thank you for reading with me. You are the best principal.â??

Fourth-grader Cameron Greene wrote that seeing Grubiak achieve her goal â??makes me want to read more and do my goals.â??

Now that the school year has ended, Grubiak laughed out loud when she thought about the partner-reading experience she had. â??Iâ??ve learned more about spiders, snakes and undersea creatures this year because whatever they were reading, theyâ??d bring it and share it with me,â?? she noted. â??Iâ??ll probably do it again next year. Weâ??ll have a whole new batch of second-graders.â??

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