School principal aces test of leadership

Coleman McDonough stood in the chilly morning air, greeting students as they walked through the front door.

"Good morning, good morning," he said, patting some on the back, shaking hands with others. Sometimes, the sleepy students even said it back.

Then, McDonough began the other part of his morning routine: Walking the halls. "Let's go, let's go -- be on time," he said, over and over. Another frequent phrase: "Make it look good," to boys, meaning they should tuck in their shirt.

McDonough is one of St. Paul schools' newest principals. Those who know the 38-year-old say he already has the passion, attention to detail and collaborative style necessary to be a top school leader.

That was especially evident recently, when one of his students brought crystal meth to Hazel Park Academy. McDonough wasted no time contacting authorities and making sure his students were safe.

His quick and open response to parents and the community won praise from his bosses and the public.

Jodi Goodnow, who is in her 19th year teaching at Hazel Park and has known McDonough only since he took the job in February, said that's who he is everyday.

"He came here with a vision of where he wants to take us," she said. "He's given us a good first impression so far."

Late to teaching

Watching McDonough stride the halls of Hazel Park, joking one minute and reminding students to get to class the next, you'd think he was born for this job. His black hair buzzed to a Bud Grant-style flattop and wearing a navy blue blazer, McDonough looks like a principal out of Central Casting.

But the former St. John's University football lineman was a government major in college. He wanted to go into politics. However, working for the St. Paul City Council convinced him "that politics wasn't going to be it for me."

Instead, a trip to Ireland to play football with the Johnnies convinced him to get into coaching. He coaches kids at Palace Recreation Center "and a light bulb went off."

He got his teaching license and began working, and coaching, at St. Paul's Humboldt High School and then Arlington High School. It was while McDonough was at Arlington that longtime principal Bill Dunn made him an assistant principal.

Since then, he's worked again at Humboldt and, then, for nearly five years at St. Paul's Harding High School. A trip to St. Paul's Leadership Institute, which helps groom principals, provided more tools.

"The football coach mentality works pretty well in some areas," he said. But he needed to boost his knowledge of curriculum and his patience. "I didn't want to be a mile wide and one inch deep."

Dunn said his former protégé has the necessary attributes to be great.

"I think he's going to be a very good one," Dunn said. "He's very energetic. He works hard. And he truly likes people."

Then the retired principal -- a St. Thomas graduate -- chuckled: "I'd say he's intelligent -- except that he went to St. John's."

Trial by fire

Earlier this month, Hazel Park made the wrong kind of headlines. A 14-year-old girl brought the drug to school and gave it to six classmates. All seven were taken to area hospitals. The girl was arrested and pleaded guilty to distributing the drug. Her father has since also been charged, after police found meth in the home.

That day, McDonough was a voice of calm, reminding the media that middle school kids make some head-scratching mistakes. But, he said, you hold them accountable, "love them" and move on.

Said Dunn: "What I haven't had a chance to tell him was that, as bad a situation as that was, it was an excellent opportunity to show leadership."

Denise Quinlan, executive director of middle grades education for the St. Paul schools, said "Coley has all the ingredients to be a good principal. He's well-prepared, he's really thorough and he wants to create a learning environment that's great for kids. And it's the same as what he wants for his own children."

One of McDonough's first steps at Hazel Park was to form a leadership team of teachers, administrators and school counselors to forge a "really concrete direction." Last year, 68 percent of Hazel Park's seventh-graders couldn't read at grade level. By believing that all kids can learn -- and by incorporating what each teacher can demonstrate to be successful -- McDonough said this school will do better.

Another step? McDonough has done away with "In School Suspension," in which students are sent to a different classroom for discipline. Now, if they can't stay in their regular classroom, they go to a tutorial room where they get real instruction to help them catch up.

"We know what to do," he said of educators. "We just don't always do it."

Goodnow, whom McDonough made a coach for other Hazel Park teachers, believes he has the style and substance to make a difference.

"I feel extremely positive," she said. "I'm excited to see if his vision happens. If it does, Hazel Park is going to be an even greater place than it already is."

James Walsh • 651-298-1541

James Walsh • jwalsh@startribune.com