As a child Timisha Barnes-Jones scored her dream role working with Oprah, Whoopie, and Quincy Jones in The Color Purple. Now the chief of schools in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County in North Carolina encourages all of the students and adults she works with to dream bigger dreams.
Barnes-Jones and her district are part of a nationwide effort to help establish "principal pipelines." These pipelines provide a set of comprehensive and aligned actions to help guide the hiring, development, and support of school leaders.
This short film from Universe Creative tells the story of one leader in one pipeline. It's also the story of the hundreds upon hundreds of students that benefit from having strong leadership in schools.
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Transcript
I think I always imagined myself being a superstar, liked to dress up, liked playing, liked drama, liked theater.
So there's something I used to sing to my students all the time. As a principal, it was very short. I would say, "if you want to be somebody, if you want to go somewhere, you better wake up and pay attention."
I used to sing it to my students all the time. I've always tried to strive to be the teacher that when they think back, "oh, you know what? I had this awesome music teacher. I can't remember her name, but she always encouraged me."
I've always thought about no matter what level of career I'm in, you are supposed to impact the lives of others in a positive way. You're supposed to bring value to folks.
I grew up in a small town called Kannapolis, North Carolina. My mom and my dad often thought that I was going to be a star as well. So when "The Color Purple" came to the Charlotte area looking for actors and actresses, I got an opportunity to audition.
It was just amazing to be on set meeting Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg. But the most pivotal moment was my interaction with Quincy Jones. I remember him asking me what I wanted to do, and of course I said, "I'm going to be a star. I'm going to sing". And so he said, "well, what do you sing?" I said, the Star Spangled Banner. And he said, "what key do you sing that in?" And I said, "you know, I'm not sure I know the key that I sing it in." And I remember him hugging me and he said, "I need you to remember something. Always be ready for when the opportunity comes, because it will come."
I think I got really bitten by the education bug from teaching voice students, and I loved it. I remember being a chorus teacher and having a principal say, "you are a leader in the classroom. The students really respond to you. Have you ever thought about going into administration?" I thought, no, I haven't. But now that you say it, maybe I will.
In 2010, I got my first administration job as an assistant principal at a school that was going to be shutting down. There was a big shift in the district at the time that many schools were going to be shut down. Most of them were schools with high concentrations of poverty or black and brown students.
The very first day I was there, the students had walked out and they were making a giant circle in front of the school. I remember this, and I remember hearing them talk and they were just hurting. Why is our school closing? Do we not matter? I remember at that point thinking, this is why I'm here.
On a cultural level of course I can connect, because they see me and they see their auntie, they see their mothers, they see their grandmothers. So I was able to connect in that way, but I don't think you necessarily have to look like the students to impact them in a positive way. I don't believe that.
You have to have the mindset that you will do whatever it takes to pour into students no matter what, that you will check your own implicit biases because we all have them. I have them. We all have them. I was an administrator who continued to say, "What's your dream? What is it that you want to do? What do you want to be? I need you to always be ready when the opportunity comes, because it will come."
I have always been cognizant of my surroundings and the folks around me. I will tell you, there was a time as a junior, I had this dream that I wanted to go to Davidson College. Davidson College is a really, really good liberal arts college. But I remember I had a teacher, my English teacher, a white teacher who told me I would never get into Davidson. I had straight A's, why can't I get into Davidson and why are you saying this to me?
What it taught me, and what I still think about today, is that every moment, every word that we say to students matters. You can make or break a student's dreams by your comments.
This past year in July, I was promoted to chief of schools. What that means is I supervise the principal supervisors who coach and support the principals. And so really, I am a leader of the leaders. A coach of the coaches, yes.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is about 30 percent black, 30 percent white, 30 percent Hispanic. It's a very, very diverse district. The district is on the cutting edge of being what I will call equity-focused, equity-centered.
I am often in schools. So last week it was a very high performing school and I was with a group, and we came out into the hallway and I said, "what else can we do to ensure that the students on the other side of town also have access to the highest quality teachers? So that every single student gets a high quality education that gets them future ready."
If you are addressing biases that are obvious in your environment, if you have the boldness and the courage to stand up and do what's right for all students, that's when you have an equity lens.
I did eventually get into Davidson College. I graduated in class of 1992, but I always have that voice in my head. My mom always saying, "Don't give up on your dreams. Don't believe the negativity. You have to believe in yourself, and you have to work hard and you can do it."
So I've always had this lens of what is it that this student needs? What's your dream? What is it that you want to do? What do you want to be? You have to always be ready for when the opportunity comes, because it will come.
