Let ’ s be honest . You don ’ t know what the principal does , do you ? For students , the principal is just the person who enforces the rules , manages the school , and gives students detention for not wearing an ID in the halls - but that ’ s all very surface level . The principal is a complex character that manages a myriad of things inside and outside of school that we may or may not know about . Don ’ t believe me ? Well , then , let me tell you about Mr . Jamal . make sure students and teachers are doing their work . When he suddenly pops up into one of your classes and just silently walks around , he ’ s not just doing that for nothing . He ’ s observing the class to make sure everything is in check .
After observations , he goes to his office and checks the teacher ’ s lesson plans so he knows what they have planned for the week .
Mr . Jamal is the principal of our school and the successor to Ms . Faustina . But how did he become a principal exactly ? For that , we have to go back to the beginning .
Mr . Jamal graduated from San Houston State University in Huntsville , Texas , where he got his bachelor ’ s degree . After that , he went on to work at Golf Coast Juvenile Penitentiary as a P . E . Teacher in 1999 . He was in charge of violent delinquent teenagers who were arrested for stealing , assault , and other serious offenses .
He attained his master ’ s degree at Texas A & M University-Commerce where , thereafter , he started teaching as a substitute teacher and P . E . teacher for seven years in Texas . In 2013 , he migrated to Shanghai , China because where he became the assistant principal for our school : Shanghai Livingston American School .
After being promoted in 2020 , he became the principal of the school .
Aside from all of that , his day is filled with problem-solving and finding solutions to different problems in school .
He is in charge of student discipline , planning PLCs ( Professional Learning Conferences ), taking care of facilities , and much more .
But he ’ s not just a principal . He ’ s not a robot that only does work . When I asked him about his hobbies and the things he enjoys , he said that he likes watching sports , enjoying action movies and working out .
It is also rumored that he is very passionated about music . See : he is human after all .
No matter how you view Mr . Jamal , you have to admit that he does a lot for our school and our community . His priority is us : the students . He enjoys his job because he gets the privilege of seeing kids hone their talents and skills through proper education . In his own words , he is “ trying to achieve Utopia .”
7 | SLAS TIMES
The basic gist of his job is to be the boss . He ’ s the one that makes sure everyone is doing their work and is doing what they are told .
While an average person starts their day by going through their morning routine or checking their phone to see messages from friends and loved ones , Mr . Jamal starts his day by receiving messages from the school telling him which students and teachers are absent .
He then arrives at school at around 7:40 am and he has another job to do . He stays at the front gate to greet students and teachers but also to make sure that they have the correct health codes .
After making sure that everyone inside of the school and safe , he does a routine check of the classes to
His whole philosophy in being a principal is that he wants to give students the chance to be better and to be great in what they do .
At heart , he is an educator and that ’ s his true calling .