Hear Them Roar: Greenville Principals on Cultivating School Pride

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What does it take to build a strong school culture and engage the local community? In this episode, two Greenville County principals, Ashley Wardlaw from Blue Ridge High School and Adrian Mayes from Hughes Academy of Science and Technology, share their experiences and insights. Discover how these school leaders are making a positive impact by fostering authentic relationships, celebrating student achievements, and rallying community support. From mentorship programs to school events, learn how you can get involved and support our local schools. Tune in now to hear how Ashley and Adrian are creating a culture of pride and success in their schools.

Transcript

Catherine Schumacher:
Well, I'm really happy to be here today with my friends and colleagues, Ashley Wardlaw from Blue Ridge High School. And Adrienne Mays from Hughes Academy of Science and Technology.

Catherine Schumacher:
Grateful to have you both with us today. It's back to school time. So you all are working hard to welcome everyone back into your buildings. Both of you are, I think, first time principals at your schools. And so I'd love to hear a little bit about, you know, your pathway to where you are. So, Adrian, I think you are the most recent because last year was your first year, right?

Adrian Mayes:
Right.

Catherine Schumacher:
So tell a little bit. Let's start with you. 

Adrian Mayes:
So initially, I did not want to do education at all. I wanted to be an engineer, something to make some money. And I took physics in high school and found out quickly that that was not what I should be doing.

Adrian Mayes:
And so really, I've stumbled into a program called Call Me MISTER. And Call Me MISTER literally changed my life and the trajectory of everything that I do. I had an opportunity to mentor and tutor some students over a summertime at a summer program. I ran into a little girl and she could not multiply. Simple, simple multiplication. And it kind of blew my mind because I was wondering who allowed this child to fall through the cracks, because when she goes to school, she's going to be challenged, but she's not going to be able to answer any questions in class. And so it really just kind of put my mind in a tailspin.

Adrian Mayes:
And so, you know. Working through Call Me MISTER summer internships, education quickly became my heart and my passion. And so I graduated from Anderson University and I got a job teaching at LaFrance Elementary School in Pendleton. And I taught for a while, fifth and sixth grade. Then I had an opportunity to come to Greenville County Schools as an administrator. And so that's how I wound up at Hughes. I was an AP there for three years. And last year, like you said, was my first year in the principalship. And my goal, my aim has always been to just leave an impact and to impact as many people as I can. And so in a classroom, I had a small impact there. And then in on the community, I coach football and basketball. So that impact expanded a little bit. And then moving into an administrative role, it just expands and expands. And so I'm thankful for the opportunity to do what I'm able to do now and to be able to impact students and families as a principal. 

Catherine Schumacher:
That's great. Ashley, what about you? How did you get to where you are today?

Ashley Wardlaw:
Well, Adrienne, that story, it's very similar.The coaching, there's a lot of similarities in our stories. So I as well did not have any intention of being in education. I was going to be a stockbroker. I did not, you know, I thought I wasn't a great student. Full confession here, I'm not a great student. And high school was great. I had, you know, a great time. I had great friends. I did. And I left and I went through college and I changed my major four or five times to the point where my senior year I had to take 21 hours in the second semester to graduate on time. So that was really fun. But I ended up with a degree in business administration and I worked in a law firm for a little while.

Ashley Wardlaw:
I worked in an organization called Champion Tots, which is an exercise program for preschool age children. And shout out to all our preschool friends out there. You are champs because they scare me to death. But that was interesting. And then an opportunity to coach which fell in my lap. And I took that. And that's where, like you, Adrian, I found my passion for education. And I thought, I might do this. So I got my master's in education and I was still coaching. Got a job at Blue Ridge High School, which is obviously where I went, where my dad went. I grew up going to football games. And when people ask me, what are you going to be when you grow up? I would say, I'm going to be a tiger. Had nothing to do with Clemson. But it had everything to do with Blue Ridge. So it's a part of who I am. My husband went there as well. I taught there, was assistant athletic director and coach there for nine years and then had an opportunity from one of my mentors who I hope I'll have a chance to speak about later. Mr. Eric Williams gave me my first admin job at Wade Hampton and I spent five years there and served under him and Dr. Carlos Grant. Learned so much there and then an opportunity to go home came open. So I went in full speed ahead and it has been the greatest blessing of my life.

Catherine Schumacher:
It's a great story. I think what struck me both, you know, you mentioned it, the fact that it's an incredible pathway with huge ripples of impact, but it's not the pathway you started on. And I think it's so important for students to hear that. I have a similar professional, like, you never know. And I think, you know, being fully present and taking advantage of those those opportunities they present themselves as so important. Well, so talk a little bit, you know, what do you love about what you do as a principal? Like what, what are the, what surprised you? Ashley, let's start with you.

Ashley Wardlaw:
Wow. I don't think much surprisesv you because kids are kids and kids are very unique. And knowing, you know, what my experiences were and how we came to be where we are, it's been really fun to see how you can impact kids because it's not about a title and it's not about any of that. It's, you know, we're all little shots. And as long as we're shooting in the same direction, we can we can get there. 

Catherine Schumacher:
Adrian? 

Adrian Mayes:
Kind of along the same lines. I don't think I'm surprised by much anymore. I'm surprised at my ability to be able to manage it all and to handle it and to kind of. 

Catherine Schumacher:
That leadership piece.

Adrian Mayes:
Yeah. Yeah. But I just I love being able to make an impact. I don't know how many times we're going to say the word impact on this podcast today. But I think that that's really all it's about.Being able to make an impact on our students and on our community. 

Catherine Schumacher:
That's great. Right. Impact. And, you know, Ashley already mentioned mentors and Call Me MISTER. I'd love to hear you talk a little bit more about the Call Me MISTER program when we talk about mentorship. But, you know, obviously, you know, we at PEP talk a lot about how do you mentor teachers and how do you support teachers, particularly early career teachers? And both of you are early career principals. So talk a little bit about what mentorship in that space looks like and what kind of support that you've gotten and, you know, have continued to sort of seek out as you've moved through this to this next phase of your career. Adrian, why don't you start? 

Adrian Mayes:
So I think the biggest thing is like you never forget like where you come from and you never forget some of the struggles that you had as an early teacher, as early whatever it is that you're deciding to do with your life. And so... Me, I try my best to be present and to be available for anybody who needs me so that I can be sure that I'm providing appropriate mentorship and that I am giving them an opportunity to learn and to grow. Oftentimes tell our teachers we have to be forever learners and we have to always dive into the next thing.

Adrian Mayes:
We can't encourage our kids to be forever learners and to productive struggle and all those things if we're not modeling that ourselves. And so I think all of that is a part of what that mentorship looks like. You want to know who my mentors are? Is that where we're going?

Catherine Schumacher:
Any opportunity to shout out other educators. Like we will take it when we're having these conversations.

Adrian Mayes:
So, of course, Call Me MISTER played a vital role in my matriculation through the educational process.

Catherine Schumacher:
You want to tell folks about the Call Me MISTER program and what it is real quick, just in case they're not familiar with it, which they should be because it's amazing.

Adrian Mayes:
So the Call Me MISTER Program was an initiative for African-American males to get into the classrooms.I believe it was 2% across the country. This is not just in South Carolina. Males are, or teachers are African-American males. And so an initiative to get African-American males into the classroom so that students also have an opportunity to see somebody and learn from somebody that looks like them. The Call Me MISTER Program has since its inception, we have more individuals who are joining the Call Me MISTER Program, not just African-American males. So that we are expanding our outreach there. I got into the Call Me MISTER Program and I met some some awesome people. Specifically Mr. Mark Joseph, who kind of took me under his wing. We built a relationship quickly and he was never forceful with me or never, you know, condescending or anything like that. I was in college living my best life. Right. And he kind of pulled me in and we had some some critical conversations and he kind of narrowed my focus.

Adrian Mayes:
And he made me feel like someone versus me having to do some kind of soul searching to figure out why am I even here. And so he gave me an opportunity to really build myself and so definitely shoutout to Mr. Mark Joeph and Call Me Mister. Also, I am a member of an organization in Greenville and the Upstate called Bold Leadership, where they are principals, community leaders who mentor me and we can kind of bounce ideas off of each other. We talk every day. There's never a day that goes by that we don't have a conversation. Just kind of about life and manhood and principalship and so many different things. My predecessor, Mr. Finley, I talk to him often and he gives me great ideas and just a sounding board of what it takes to do this job. I literally could go on and on and on and about people who I talk to who pour into me every day and weekly about, you know, what it takes to do this job and what it takes to be a good person. 

Catherine Schumacher:
So that you can pour it into the students and your teachers, your teachers and staff. Ashley, what about you? You already mentioned Eric Williams. And so talk a little bit about who has sort of helped you on your journey.

Ashley Wardlaw:
Well, I would be amiss if I didn't mention my parents first. Just they believed I could do anything and let me try and fail. So shout out to them. And then Eric Williams took a chance on the girl from up the mountain, the Blue Ridge girl, and gave me my first job. And I still sometimes ask him, what in the world? I can't even imagine that first interview where I don't know what I'm talking about. I don't know anything about administration. And he saw something in me, thank goodness, and hired me and taught me so much. Scott Reimer, once I got into the principalship.Recently retired, he always had my back. He supported me. He answered all the questions in the world, even the crazy ones of a first-year principal, a second-year principal, but he's been super supportive. Tracy Hogan. She's really taught me a lot about students with disabilities and how to reach them and, you know, different ways of thinking out of the box. Because at the end of the day, talking about that impact, we need to impact kids. It is critical because education for many is a ticket to a different life. So we have to find a way. So I would give them huge shout outs. 

Catherine Schumacher:
Yeah, well, it's I do think it's that sort of it flows down, right? Like all of this mentorship, it just enables you to have the skills that you need. So one of the reasons I wanted to talk to the two of you in particular is I think you do such incredible work at culture building and sort of really building up and building up the culture in your walls so everyone feels like part of that family. And I think relationships first, right? You can't teach without relationships. So I would love for you to just share a little bit about how you go about building culture and what your priorities have been as you've stepped into these roles. Ashley, why don't you start? 

Ashley Wardlaw:
So I think with culture, me stepping into Blue Ridge was a little bit unique because it was a part of me. You know, I say I bleed red and black. So it was very easy for me to show the love of the school because I love it. And I think as part of culture, it's not, you don't go around and say, I'm building a better culture. You don't say that. It's just a part of what happens. And I think when people see an authentic and true version and a true spirit of love, they will buy in. And we've done a really great job at Blue Ridge of sticking with things that are simple enough that anybody can understand and get on board with. Our motto is hear us roar. We're the Tigers, so hear us roar. But the roar stands for something, and it stands for what we're going to do as a school. Talking about the relationships. The first R is building relationships with all of our stakeholders, which is a big part of why I'm so excited to be here today and reaching more people. The O is establishing an organization that promotes the achievement, A, of all of our students and finally rallying our community behind our school. So we just continue to push that and say that and everything that we do. No matter what it is, where it comes from, as long as it It fits under that umbrella. We take it and we run with it. And it has caught on. And you see Hear Us Roar everywhere. Hashtag Hear Us Roar. Go Tigers. 

Catherine Schumacher:
That's awesome. Adrian, what about you? 

Adrian Mayes:
So I think, listening to Ashley talk, I think she used the word authentic. And I think people really want to be around somebody that they can trust and somebody who is authentic with them, someone who will listen to them, someone who will respond to them. And I wake up every day with a plan and a purpose to do just that, not just with the adults in our building, not just with the students in our building, but for every person that comes in that door. My goal is to be authentic and to show that I really do care. It's not something that you say. It's something that you do. You show you care. There's action behind it. And that just bubbles over. Talk about impact again. That bubbles over into our teachers, which bubbles over into our students. And we try to be intentional about celebrations and programs and kindness day and just loving on each other to show camaraderie in our building, in our community. We have families come in. I always encourage parents to come into our building so that we build strong relationships with the school and with the community. We try to have events to where our families can come into the building. And, you know, Mr. Mayes is not just a name you hear, but, you know, we're in the car line, we're waving and we're sending out phone blasts and emails and you're constantly hearing from us. So communication is a big thing in order to build a strong culture. And again, just making sure that the vision and the mission is clear and that we are all doing. You know, what we say we're going to do, which is to make an impact on our on our community and to celebrate our kids because they deserve it. 

Catherine Schumacher:
That's absolutely true. I love hearing community and sort of family and engaging all of that. Obviously, with back to school, I always say that schools are so critical infrastructure. That's what I always say. I say it all the time. It's like roads, bridges, schools, like that's where we are. How can people help? I mean, I think people should be supporting our public schools, even if they don't have kids in the schools, for that very reason that it's so important. So where are places that folks can plug in and support the work that you're doing or the work that's happening in the, you know, neighborhood school down the street? 

Adrian Mayes:
That's a great question. Mentorship is huge. And so we have, we've expanded our mentoring program at our school to where we have parents that come in or community members that come in and mentor some of our kids, whether it be in the morning, whether it be bringing them lunch and, you know, having lunch with them sometimes during the week. We have a program at our school called Hughes Dudes, which Mr. Finley kind of started and continuing where dads come in our school and they stand in the hallways and watch our kids as they come in and build relationships with them. And as I said earlier, I'm always encouraging, you know, families to come into the building and seeing what we're doing. And so I would say if anybody's interested in mentoring any of our kids, that would be great. We could always use supplies. You know, we have students who sometimes just don't have and don't have the means. And so many supplies would be great. But I think really just rallying behind our teachers and motivating them and standing strong with them and showing support to the work that they're doing, because our teachers have a hard job. They hear it from administration. They hear it from parents. They hear it from kids. It comes from all over. And so our teachers need as much support as they can when it comes to kids going home, making sure they're doing their homework and making sure they're studying and making sure they're turning in their work. So there's our NHIs are going down, all of those types of things. If anybody really wants to support school, we need to support our teachers and we need to really stand in the gap for them and make sure that they have the support that they need so that at the end of the day, our kids are learning. 

Adrian Mayes:
Yeah, well, elevate teachers. That's right at the top of PEP’s list. So, Ashley, what about what about you? How can how can folks help you? 

Ashley Wardlaw:
I love that you brought that up about teachers. You know, I think sometimes we wait until Teacher Appreciation Week to celebrate our teachers. And really, you know, a simple email to a teacher, whether you know them or not, thanks for what you do, goes a long way. I mean, that's huge. So I definitely agree with that. Anything that anybody wants to do for teachers. Drop off a goodie bag, just send them an email, write them a card, you know, that would be great. Volunteers, we can always use volunteers at our schools. Our canteen runs every day. Our PTA runs our canteen, always in need of volunteers. Mentors, Blue Ridge is a pretty unique school because we have one middle school that feeds us. And then that middle school has three elementary schools that feed them. So it's common that, you know, our kids have known each other since they were in first grade, and having families that can come in and help mentor other students that maybe aren't in a great situation or just help out, volunteer, the doors are always open. We also want to invite to our athletic events. We've got athletic events happening all the time at the high school level, so just come out, support our athletes. We have a new athletic director this year. We're really excited about Austin Abercrombie. So we're excited about the trajectory of our athletic programs. And we've got, I'm not sure when this will air, but Return to the Ridge Rally, where we welcome all our students, all our community to come to our school. It's a drop-in event on August 5th from 4 to 7, where we just say, hey, welcome back. It's a great, fun event. Welcome to the family. Yeah, we got, you know, popcorn. We got a DJ. It's a fun time. So that's great.

Catherine Schumacher:
I'm grateful to both of you to bring because it's such a hard… being a principal is a really hard job because, I mean, it's hard to be it's hard to be anywhere in education. But I think principals, you're in the middle. Right. And you've got these expectations and then you've got families. And so everything that you have to juggle and to be able to do it with love and intentionality and a real passion, which is obvious in this conversation with both of you. So is there anything else you all want to share with listeners before we sign off? 

Ashley Wardlaw:
I just want to say thanks. This was great. I enjoyed it. It was fun. . 

Adrian Mayes:
Yeah, definitely say thanks and just continue to be good people. I think we're in a trying time, very interesting time in our world across the board, not just politics or anything, just an interesting time period. And so just continue to be good people and love on each other because we all need it. We all need somebody to stand in the gap. So let's let's continue to do that. 

Catherine Schumacher:
Yeah. Relationships first. That's it. It's the way to do all the things. So, well, thank you both for joining me today. Thanks so much.

Catherine Puckett: Simple Civics: Greenville County is a project of Greater Good Greenville. Greater Good Greenville was catalyzed by the merger of the Nonprofit Alliance and the Greenville Partnership for Philanthropy. You can learn more on our website at greatergoodgreenville.org.