"New Miller principal not a stranger to opening schools": Green Valley View article

II■k | - Saturday, August 19,2000/View/7AA1 First-time princi- ; pal Kaweeda Ad- j ams says the first challenge she will ' face at Miller Middle School is to establish a tradition.I Ralph Fountain/ViewEven with a long road behind her, the journey has just begun.With students feeding into Miller from Vanderburg and Lamping elementary schools and Silvestri and Burkholder middle schools, the first step, Adams said, is to establishtradition.“Bob Miller Middle School has to create its own culture,” Adams said. “We ' bring all those together.”Rebecca Kaatz Keller as principalPlease see ADAMS/8AANew Miller principal not a stranger to opening schools By Tiffannie Bond ~View staff writerFor the past few years, Kaweeda Adams has made her living being the new kid.As a teacher, she assisted in the opening of O’Callaghan Middle School, and six years later did the same for Keller Middle School as an assistant principal.
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Now, Adams is a first-time I principal at Miller Middle 1 School, and she’s in charge of every facet of the school’s \ grand opening, slated for i Aug. 28. I
“There’s a different ner-M spective in the other roles I- played opening a school,” Ad- | ams said. “As the principal, EH it’s all-encompassing.”
Appointed to the position in ! December, Adams’ first day of I school was-Jan. 3 when she began conversing with the , contractors, ordering supplies and hiring teachers and sup- ' port staff.
Adams has been anticipat- I ing the arrival of her 847 pu- : pils for nearly eight months.

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after it opened andosuper- vised Adams until her principal appointment. Although a year had passed, Keller’s op- lerations and traditions were still being established when Kaatz arrived.
“For me, it’s been one of the most amazing things,” Kaatz said. “Everybody’s got to work together (and) understand we’re creating everything for the first time.”
When she was first appointed, Adams, along with assistant principal Rene Caiman and dean of students Brenda Larsen-Mitchell, examined the test scores of the pupils from Miller’s feeder schools. The scores showed more pupils were technology driven, which was in concurrence with the Clark County School District’s findings.
“Through technology||(the students) can see how life is related to what they learn, Adams said. “This is an outstanding area for student achievement, and we’re looking at enhancing that.”
With that in mind, Adams and her teaching staff developed Study Strategies,' a fourth-period "class taken by all of Miller’s pupils. The class' will center on developing vocabulary and teaching students the logistics of standardized .and nonstandardized testing.
£ fiShe gives more of herself at school than any 10 people you ever want to meet. They’re blessed to have her.??
Rebecca Kaatz Keller principal
To Adams, middle school is a good time to learn these skills, which will stick with them through their high school and college years.
“Middle school is the time where they start taking a role in their education,Adams said.
Although this is. Adams’^ first gig as a principal, at least one person believes Miller will thrive under her leadership.
“It’s hard to give advice to someone who you want to be when you grow up,” said Kaatz of Adams. “She gives more of herself at school than any 10 people you ever want to meet.'• They’re blessed Iter have her.”
“It’s very rewarding to see something start from the be- ginningSj Adams said. “I would not change this experience thus far for anything.”