G.W. Carver and Indian Spring Middle School Principal Isaac Carrier shares the experiences of Black school principals in the new book “Fighting the Good Fight: Narratives of the African American Principalship,” which he co-edited with Aaron Griffen.
G.W. Carver and Indian Spring Middle School Principal Isaac Carrier co-edited the new book "Fighting the Good Fight: Narratives of the African American Principalship," but he probably could have provided a chapter or two from his 27-year career in education.
If the stories from the 35 participants in the book serve to inspire others to stay the course at a time when public education is under multiple stresses and attacks, it will have achieved what Carrier intended for it.
"We want our readers to pull from that, that 'fighting the good fight' is a whole bunch of individual fights. It's a matter of keeping your focus," he said. "We want it to be an inspiration and motivation to stay in the fight."
Carrier and Aaron Griffen, director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Denver-based DSST Public Schools and a mentor, created the book over three years, asking Black principals from across the country to share their experiences.
The idea spun off of Carrier's 2017 doctoral dissertation at Texas A&M University, which looks at the experiences and leadership of Black male school superintendents. A common thread for many were their years as principals, and that led the two men to consider a book focusing on principals.
"It turned into much larger than we envisioned," Carrier said.
The COVID-19 pandemic compounded the challenge.
The importance of individual adults in changing students' lives is highlighted in many of the principals' lives and careers, something Carrier resonated with and which forms a major part of his philosophy as an educator.
A Beaumont native, Carrier was on his way to a degree in agricultural business at Stephen F. Austin State University and a possible job with Dupont Agricultural Products. His eighth grade agriculture teacher, who became a mentor, and his mother, a school secretary and superintendent's secretary, urged him to secure a teaching certificate as well. A job as a high school agriculture teacher resolved a last-minute complication to his graduation, and Carrier started what would be a long career in education in 1995.
"I graduated on a Saturday morning and Monday morning I was in the classroom," he said.
Older teachers and administrators coached and supported him as a young teacher, steering him to a graduate degree that opened the door to life as a school administrator, first as a principal, then district superintendent. In his career, Carrier has worked as principal in the Aldine Independent School District, executive director of school leadership in the Dallas Independent School District and an assistant superintendent in the Spring Independent School District.
He came to Waco in July 2020 to head G.W. Carver Middle School, a Transformation Waco charter school within Waco ISD, after the death of its previous principal, Phillip Perry.
"I've loved it here in Waco," Carrier said. "It's not something I thought of doing, but working with kids is the joy of my life."
His time at Carver has had unexpected challenges. The pandemic has forced closures at the school. A fire in late July left the school campus unusable just as teachers were preparing for students to return for a new school year, and that led to the emergency merging of Carver students and faculty with those at Indian Spring Middle School and its building.
Beyond that are the stresses experienced by public schools across the country, including students in poverty and unstable home situations, overworked teachers, limited opportunities for advancement, tight budgets, lack of support from state and national legislatures and a public criticism for decisions made by school administrators and boards. Add to that the discrimination encountered by teachers and administrators of color and one sees why Carrier feels a book of shared experiences can help those caught in the middle.
"For a principal, on the campus level, the buck stops there," he said. "Both (principal and superintendent positions) are singular and both can be very lonely. You've got to shoulder all that."
Still, the realization that an adult educator can make a difference offsets the challenges.
"A lot of our kids move a lot and it's difficult to sustain and maintain relationships, but there's that desire to be that one teacher at some time that a student has such a strong connection to," Carrier said.
He said he searched out his kindergarten teacher and finally found her though some 40 years had passed since their time in a classroom.
"She remembered me as if it was yesterday and I told her, 'If it wasn't for you, I would not be where I am today,'" Carrier said. "I hope every educator hears something like that."
Waco ISD principal collaborates for new book on Black principals' experiences - Waco Tribune-Herald
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