Hays seeks transformation

New principal ties North High success to early childhood

Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 2, 2006 at midnight

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Parents gush about JoAnn Trujillo Hays.

They flock to her school, add their names to waiting lists and cross their fingers that they will get their kids into one of the nation's first public dual-language Montessori schools, Academia Ana Marie Sandoval in northwest Denver.

City Councilwoman Judy Montero is a Sandoval parent. So is Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver teachers' union. Mayor John Hickenlooper wanted to be but the random lottery that helps determine enrollment didn't go his son's way.

"She's a problem solver, she's an instructional expert, she really thinks long term about what's best for kids," Ursetta said.

DPS Superintendent Michael Bennet is more succinct: "She's a treasure."

Hays, 57, may need all that good will, and more. On Tuesday, with little prior high school experience, she moves into the principal's office at North High School.

Though just a few blocks from Sandoval, North is different. One example: Sandoval's waiting list is 150 students long. More than 40 percent of students living around North go elsewhere.

Bennet's call a week ago to run North was "totally unexpected," Hays said Friday in her office at Sandoval.

"If Michael had called and just said, 'JoAnn, we need you to go to North and be a principal,' without saying anything about reform or transformation, I would have said no," she said. "I would be going in as another principal without the level of support I think is necessary."

Instead, he asked her to begin a community conversation about how to transform North by looking at early childhood education to high school. One idea is linking Valdez Elementary to North for a campus spanning pre-school to grade 12.

Melissa Underwood-Verdeal, a veteran English teacher at North, likes that idea - and what she's hearing about Hays.

"She has come very highly recommended from everyone I've talked to," Underwood-Verdeal said. "Unsolicited even, 'Oh, you're getting JoAnn Trujillo Hays, you're so lucky.' "

Hays said she does not know yet if Bennet will call for a staff shake-up at North, as some community members have requested. What follows are excerpts from an hour-long interview:

Why become a teacher?

I had an algebra teacher, Mrs. Tafoya, in the eighth grade. She saw the potential in me and really took an interest. I excelled in math and that's something girls then didn't really do . . . It made me realize the impact one individual can have on a child.

Are you bilingual?

Yes, but I wasn't encouraged to speak Spanish. My grandparents spoke Spanish at home, and my parents did, but never to me. When I was growing up, children who spoke Spanish were sent to the back of the classroom and mostly ignored. That's pretty typical of children of my generation.

The reason I succeeded is because of Mrs. Tafoya. Kids need to know that teachers believe in them. I was not meant to succeed but I did it anyway.

You grew up here, ran a preschool in Guam, attended college in Kansas, came back to Colorado. Why that path?

My husband is in the Air Force . . . I was a very young mom. I didn't get my bachelor's degree until I was 35. My goal was to get my bachelor's degree before my oldest son got his high school diploma. I did it, by one day.

Now you're 57 and you're successful. Why take on North?

There has to be some place for children in this community to go to middle school and high school. They need to have viable options. Some families can go outside the community but many don't have a choice . . . and because early childhood education is my passion. You can't do secondary reform without looking at elementary education.

A number of groups, such as Padres Unidos, have been outspoken in calling for change at North. Does that worry you?

I've worked with Padres Unidos, I know where their heart is. They are doing this work because they care about students. I'm not defensive. My door is always open. If someone has an issue, let's sit down and talk.

You don't know if there will be a redesign - or staff change - at North. Is it hard to plan?

If they decide on redesign or not, we're still having reformation. The conversations will still occur, the work that has to be done will still occur.

Any concerns about your lack of high school experience?

I know good instruction. If a teacher is working with a 3-year-old or a ninth-grader, I can walk in and I know quality instruction. I don't know the high school structure but I will learn that quickly enough. I've raised two sons, I know the stages they go through.

Is dual language a possibility for the new North?

I hope language would be one of the conversations . . . Anything is open at this point.

Feeling pressure yet?

It doesn't worry me. I intend to tell the truth. If I do something wrong, I will own it. My expectations are students are in school and in class. My responsibility is to support teachers so they can teach. I've taken on issues at every school . . . I really believe if I do the right things for the children, it will work. I'm a realist though. I know it's going to be tough.

New leader at North

JoAnn Trujillo Hays will officially take over Tuesday as principal of North High School, 2960 N. Speer Blvd., a few blocks from Academia Ana Marie Sandoval, the dual language Montessori program that she helped create. Some background on her:

• Age: 57

• Childhood: Born in Trinidad, educated at Catholic schools through eighth grade. Her family moved to Gunnison and she's a Gunnison High School graduate, Class of '67.

• Education: Master's degree in educational administration, curriculum and supervision, University of Colorado, May 1995; bachelor's degree in elementary and early childhood education, Wichita State University, December 1984.

• Family: Husband, Joe Hays, is retired from the U.S. Air Force; two sons, Eric Miller, a chemical engineer, and Dan Miller, a scientist; four grandchildren.

• Priorities: "My faith and my family and then my profession."

Challenges at North

Low test scores and declining enrollment sparked the creation of a reform plan at North High School, a struggling school in northwest Denver. State test results for spring 2006 showed growth, but some argue that progress is too slow. Here's some of what new North Principal JoAnn Trujillo Hays faces:

• Enrollment: Dropped from 1,540 in fall 2002 to 1,230 in fall 2005, the most recent year available. In 2005-06, 43 percent of high school students living around North transferred to another school.

• Retention: Many students who enroll at North as freshmen do not stay. Of the 700 ninth-graders in fall 2002, only 182 were still at the school as 12th-graders in fall 2005.

• Resources: As student numbers decline, so do the numbers of teachers and, typically, the number of classes offered that might entice students. In fall 2003, North had 79 teachers. In fall 2005, the school had 56.

• State test scores: Scores in 2006 are a bright spot but some say they're still far too low:

Grade Subject % proficient '05*

9 Reading 27% +7 pts.

9 Math 9% +6 pts.

10 Reading 31% NC

10 Math 6% +4 pts.

*Change in percentage points from 2005

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