Price Settles into New Job as Cedar Shoals Principal

When students come through the doors of Aug. 8, many of them will be greeted by a familiar face.

As the new principal of Cedar Shoals High, Tony Price knows about half of this year's crop of students as graduates of - where he was principal for the past five years.

“I feel a special connection to Cedar,” Price said. “For the last five years, half of that population were my students, so I know the parents and I know the students very, very well.”

Price to the principal position at Cedar Shoals over the spring. He follows Ingrid Gilbert, who became an interim principal at Elementary. Price brings more than nine years experience as an administrator in the Clarke County School District, having also worked at as an associate principal for four years prior to his principalship at Hilsman.

Before coming to Clarke County, Price served as a school administrator at an alternative school in Atlanta and as assistant principal of a middle school in Alexandria, Va.

At Cedar, Price plans to spend the first year identifying, “what works and what doesn't,” he said.

“I think the biggest challenge will be to enhance what (Cedar staff) already built, and make the changes that are necessary,” Price said. “Changing anything sometimes is difficult, but it's how we change that's important and it's important to do it right.”

for the fifth consecutive year for not meeting state and federal achievement standards set by the No Child Left Behind Law.

Not enough students passed sections of an English test last year to meet this year's requirement to show adequate yearly progress. Results posted by student subgroups such as low-income, black and disabled students, didn't meet requirements.

“As long as we are on the Needs Improvement List, we've got stuff that we need to do,” Price said. “We need to make some improvement instructionally and otherwise. We've got to step it up instructionally and be sure we reach all students.”

However, over the years, Cedar Shoals students have made some important academic gains. In three years the graduation rate increased from 61 percent to 69 percent. This year, five students were named National Advanced Placement Honor students for having high average scores on several AP exams, while a handful of others received similar awards after passing several advanced placement exams.

At Hilsman, school administrators and parents credited Price for making some much needed changes, which not only improved the school environment, but helped Hilsman shed a needs improvement label after several years of missing the AYP benchmark.

“He makes in my opinion, really good choices about the people he places around him in positions,” said C.J. Amason, who has had children attend both Hilsman Middle and Cedar Shoals High School. “Whether it's other administrators or teachers or support staff, I think he really thinks that through.”

Amason and another parent, George Crane, who serves on the school council, agreed that while the school isn't disorderly, administrators could do more to address discipline when the need arises.

“At Hilsman, discipline-wise (Price) did a great job of bringing that school around to have more of a semblance of control,” Crane said. “I think he did an excellent job of creating a better atmosphere in the school and I think Cedar has a great need for that.”

At Cedar, Price wants to add more advanced placement classes to challenge gifted students, and encourage more minority and poor students to sign up for the classes. Down the road, he hopes to give all students another challenging option with the implementation of an International Baccalaureate degree program.

The International Baccalaureate program is a more rigorous and challenging academic program. It will roll out at two middle schools this year before it expands into all four middle schools and the district's two traditional high schools.

“I think we've got the ingredients of an outstanding school. There's a lot of work we have to do, and our first goal is to work toward overall student achievement in every area,” Price said.

But Price will also need to depend on parents to help, he said. To keep parents involved, administrators will go beyond the school doors and into the community, he said.

“At Hilsman, I had an open school, and I had an open door policy, and at Cedar I will have an open school,” Price said. “I will reach out by having meetings in the school community, and that's really, really important. I want the community to be really proud of the school and one way to do that is open doors, and welcome their support.”