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Last year, the second-grade teachers at Takoma Park Elementary School in Takoma Park, Md., were struggling to manage their classrooms. Their students had spent kindergarten at home during the pandemic and were lacking basic school skills.

“They wanted to go to the bathroom on their own without asking. They wanted snacks when they wanted them. They were talkative. It was more difficult for them to follow directions,” said second-grade teacher Deborah Roberts-Harris.

The teachers went to their principal, Zadia Gadsden, for help. She offered to visit the classrooms to talk to the children.

“I’m thinking she’s going to say, ‘You need to behave.’ She had a better idea. She said, ‘I need your class to be my ambassadors. I need all the second-graders to be on the lookout for kids that might need help to help your teacher,’” Roberts-Harris said. “She did it in a way that empowered them rather than discouraged them.” Pretty soon, the children were asking their friends to be quiet in line because they were proud ambassadors to the second grade.

That’s just one example of the way Gadsden, 55, empowers students, teachers and parents to repair their mistakes without shame. It’s a skill that has healed a school community still reeling from the pandemic and has earned her the title of<i> </i>The Washington Post’s<i> </i>2024 Principal of the Year, chosen from 16 finalists in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Like schools across the country, Takoma Park Elementary, a school of 620 children from prekindergarten through second grade, has been struggling with behavioral issues as students recover from the years they lost during the pandemic.

“We’ve seen a large influx of children who have different needs due to [a] limited amount of socialization,” Gadsden said. In the fall, children were exhibiting extreme behaviors such as throwing chairs, running around the room, turning over desks, hitting and biting. Teachers had to evacuate classrooms, disrupting instruction and scaring children.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Gadsden held a virtual town hall to listen to parents and to share her approach to how the school could help children experiencing dysregulation.

“Fortunately, we are in a school where parents pitch in. Once they saw how they could support, believe it or not, it hasn’t happened at all since Christmas break,” Gadsden said.

Parents and staff members attribute that success to Gadsden, who has been principal at Takoma Park for 20 years.

Gadsden knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was growing up in Pittsburgh, where she regularly forced her younger brother to play school. After graduation from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, she was a special-education teacher in D.C. and Prince George’s County for several years. In 2003, she became principal at Takoma Park.

Now, as her school faces a fifth year of pandemic-related challenges, she is drawing on her skills as a special-education teacher to support her teachers and students.

“We are in an ever-changing landscape with regard to children. Their learning, their social and emotional landscape, and their needs,” Gadsden said. “So you have to go in with heart for the kids you serve, but you have to be able to look at yourself and take an inventory of things you did well and build upon them.”

Gadsden has taken what she calls a “restorative justice” approach to discipline, which means teaching kids to understand the impact of their actions and repair the harm they’ve caused.

When a child becomes dysregulated in the classroom, a team of school professionals — the Dolphin team, named after the school’s mascot — goes to the classroom, surrounds the child in a nonviolent way until they are calm and brings them to Gadsden’s office. Once they’re able to regulate themselves, Gadsden takes them back to their classroom and personally helps them fix their mistake by helping them pick up the crayons or the chairs they threw. She helps them brainstorm something positive to give back, such as drawing a picture for their classmates.

“It’s about repairing harm so kids don’t have lasting negative memories about a child who became dysregulated,” Gadsden said. “They have to engage the class in something positive. We don’t want them to feel humiliated, so there’s no public apology. We want them to realize through their actions that there has been a mistake and they need to do better.”

Gadsden encourages children to ask for a break before they get into trouble. They come to her office to build Legos until they are ready to return. Some kids come frequently enough to have their own Lego crate.

Gadsden’s hands-on approach with discipline reflects her willingness to wade into all of the daily challenges at school. “I’ve seen her sweep the cafeteria floor because we were down building service people,” Roberts-Harris said.

Parents feel her support, too. Earlier this year, when Laura Petes’s kindergartner threw up at school, Gadsden was the one who  cleaned her up.

“She had to walk up three or four ramps and down three or four hallways to carry my daughter, whose shoes had been soiled, back to the office. Then she personally called me to explain what happened,” Petes said. “It probably took an hour out of her day. … She always does what’s needed to support the kids and the teacher.”

Gadsden also supports the surrounding community. Earlier this year, she hosted an event at school called “Bilingualism is My Superpower” for non-English-speaking parents, many of whom speak Spanish and Amharic. She was seeking help from teachers and translators on how to use the school’s resources. Gadsden tries to retain a diverse teaching staff and provides translation at every event, regardless of who is attending.

She also founded a book club for Hispanic and African American students that has served more than a hundred children in the past eight years. Students from second to fifth grades meet three Saturdays a month, where volunteers read books featuring protagonists of color.

“The job is much bigger than it used to be. Now I have to pour into the adults the way I once only had to pour into the children,” Gadsden said. “I say, ‘If you need help, come see me. … I’m not successful if you are not, so let’s put our shoulders to the wheel and push together.’”

Eliza Gray

washpost

Zadia Gadsden is The Washington Post’s 2024 Principal of the Year

the-washington-post

The Washington Post Principal of the Year,  Zadia T. Gadsden at Takoma Park Elementary School on April 17 in Takoma Park, MD.

for The Washington Post

The Washington Post

Valerie Strauss

Jay Mathews

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