Mercury-Register, CA
April 23 2005
Central is stop for international educators
By Rick Longley/Education Writer
A contingent of foreign school principals visited Central Middle
School on Thursday for a look at American education with a California
style.
About 15 administrators from Armenia and the former Soviet republics
of Georgia and Azerbaijan were charmed by Central Principal Rick
Hilliard whom one described as one of the “most colorful and
interesting principals he’d met in the United States.”
The group was part of a national American Councils for International
Education tour hosted by California State University, Chico for a
Northern California trip to schools in Sacramento, San Francisco and
Butte County. The principals also visited Washington, D.C. earlier
and was set to go home Saturday, officials said.
Hilliard delighted the educators with enthusiastic comments about his
philosophies on education and how he runs the school.
He told the visitors Central has 790 students attending its seventh
and eighth-grade classes who come from all socio-economic
backgrounds.
Its teachers teach classes in beginning math to algebra plus history,
English, reading, science and a host of other subjects, he said. This
is done with the aid of computers in most classrooms plus some in the
school’s library where he met with the group.
Hilliard noted the students are provided a safe learning environment,
but he has the expectation they will come to school prepared to
learn.
In addition to teaching the California curriculum standards, Central
Middle provides field trips to places like Washington, D.C. for its
eighth graders and to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival.
Central also offers closed-circuit television and students run their
own TV network complete with interviews and news programs on school
issues, he said.
“My philosophy for education is that we will always strive for
excellence and never accept mediocrity,” Hilliard said.
California requires all school administrators to rise through the
ranks of teaching before becoming principals, Hilliard explained, and
the Oroville Elementary School District also requires its principals
to hold master’s degrees.
The visiting principals indicated their system is similar in that
principals must first teach before moving up to administration. A
translator relayed their comments to Hilliard and the other Americans
at this visit.
He was joined by world history/geography teacher Steve Herman and
Central counselor Tere Lawrence who took two groups of principals on
visits to various classes while Hilliard escorted the Armenians.
Herman is a former Fulbright Scholar who’s done teacher exchanges to
England, Poland and the Ukraine, where he lived and taught for a year
at a time.
In addition, Herman brings his travel experiences to the classroom
and shares his life abroad with the students. He told the principals
he first wants students to know where places like Rome are today
before discussing ancient civilizations. That way they have a
contemporary feel for the past.
Hilliard said he does not try to instill fear in his staff, opting
rather to work with teachers and employees in a partnership while
still providing advice and guidance as requested or needed.
The visitors were impressed with the California school but somewhat
confused by the differences in school grade levels as their students
go to one school from first grade through 11th grade.
In the U.S., students attend elementary school, then middle school
and finally high school before going on to college or the workplace.
The American educators also mentioned having plenty of parent
advisory groups like the PTA and Parent Club to assist the school,
and the school district is run by an elected local school board which
sets policy in conjunction with the state and federal guidelines and
so on.
In the end, Hilliard received a round of applause for his input and
the visitors lauded him for being an active principal with a “humane
and loving heart.”