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COMMUNITY BUILDERS Phoenix principal focused on giving voice to her community Jani Hale found the best ideas for running Phoenix High came from those closest to it Comment By Interview by Steve Boyarsky MailTribune.com By Interview by Steve Boyarsky Posted Jul. 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Interview by Steve Boyarsky Posted Jul. 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM Jani Hale bio --> Jani Hale bio Jeanette “Jani” Hale concluded a 33-year career in public education with her retirement as principal of Phoenix High School in June. A teen mom, Hale ... » Read more X Jani Hale bio Jani Hale bio Jeanette “Jani” Hale concluded a 33-year career in public education with her retirement as principal of Phoenix High School in June. A teen mom, Hale completed her high school equivalency diploma in 1970 while her husband, Steve, was deployed in Vietnam and her oldest daughter, Jocelyn, was an infant. After taking time out to raise her two daughters, she took her first job in a school in 1977 as a cafeteria monitor at Medford Mid High School, located in the current Central Medford High School. In 1978, Hale enrolled in a writing class at Southern Oregon State College. In 1984, she accepted a position as an English teacher at Medford Mid High School. In 1996, she was hired as assistant principal at South Medford High School. In 2003, she became principal at Phoenix High School. In 2014 Hale served as president of the Oregon Association of Secondary School Administrators. » Social News Editor's note: Community Builders is a periodic Q & A series providing perspectives from local individuals who have been involved in significant change in Southern Oregon. Today's interview is with former Phoenix High principal Jani Hale, who recently retired after helping to lift the school to a level of statewide recognition. Q — What is your connection to the Rogue Valley? J.H. — I was born in Medford, at Sacred Heart Hospital in 1951. I don’t think we had kindergarten at that time. I went to Roosevelt Elementary, Hedrick and then grades 10, 11 and 12 at Medford High School. I grew up with a family name that was associated with education: My grandfather was E.H. Hedrick. I remember walking behind my grandfather when Hedrick Jr. High was being built. I was the least likely grandkid to go into education, especially as a teenager. I didn’t have a voice. Which is why I think developing a voice is so important. I just don’t think I had a voice. My grandfather’s legacy is one of high expectations. He had a great deal of pride in this valley and in Medford and his work. Thirty-some years as a superintendent. He hired great people and he let them do their job, and the community trusted him. I think I’ve earned the trust of my community. I believe in Phoenix, and whoever goes into my position, I hope they will be as inspired by the community and by the kids as I have been. Q — What are you most proud of in your work at Phoenix High? J.H. — At the time I came in 2003, I realized there were people who had not quite adjusted to the change in demographics, to the changes that were occurring in the valley. I realized there was a mindset, a limited worldview of what our students were capable of. When I was told, “This is Phoenix, this is the way we do things here,” it inspired me to push past. So I think I’m most proud of transforming how people narrowly defined Phoenix High School as a blue-collar school. One of the most inspirational events was a phone call I received from a good friend who taught at Ashland High School. He said, “I’ve been waiting for you to get this job. Jani, I think my idea is going to take root. I just want you to hear me out.” His idea was that Phoenix would send all the college-bound students to Ashland, and Ashland would send to Phoenix High School all the welders, the carpenters, the blue-collar students. That was inspirational to me. Because “bottom line,” I was hired to transform and turn around the exodus of college-bound students who were transferring to Ashland or Medford. I had been hired to stop the bleeding. The paradigm shift that new hires had to have was that an Advance Placement class must be open to all students, and our job is to inspire them to go to a level they haven’t been before and stay there. And that is what we did. So we had no roadblocks to get into an honors program. The students then began to redefine themselves. All of a sudden you have a new culture here. A rigorous culture where lunch meetings, weekend meetings to prepare for the AP test were no big deal. I began to hire others who had a sense of social justice, where students weren’t going to have roadblocks put in their way. We still had some staff who thought, “I can’t have that student in my class, because they have a terrible attitude or terrible attendance,” so I had to fight, fight, fight to get rid of those roadblocks for our students to take challenging, exciting, rigorous coursework. Eventually what you have is the shift in our data. The graduation rate starts to climb, we eliminated the (academic) gap between white and minority students in 2014. We eliminated it, that is rare. I’m proudest about the synergy, the hiring, the faith that the parents and school board have had to allow us to do what we’ve had to do. And there is no silver bullet. There is no one training. I don’t believe I can inspire people by being a top-down administrator. Top-down sounds great, but it gets lost in translation. Q — You seem passionate about students who might not be succeeding, why is that? J.H. — Because it is exciting to inspire students who have a limited definition of themselves that is based on a very shallow pool of information. Maybe they define themselves based on where they live or how life treated them unfairly or how they weren’t engaged in elementary or middle school. Students come up here from Southern California or other places. For survival they carry the affect of tough guy or tough girl. Just getting to know them a little bit and finding out why they have that persona and then build trust. And pretty soon they are involved in dance or other things and pretty soon, “Where did that tough guy go?” I don’t see that tough guy anymore. How exciting is that? My father left us when I was in ninth grade. That was when I attended Hedrick. Prior to that I was probably the class clown. So, you come home and your dad is gone. He hasn’t left us with a car. He hasn’t left us with a lot of money. So we have to move out of our little house on Stratford and find an apartment. Somehow that class clown goes away. At that time Eugene McCarthy was running against Bobby Kennedy for president. And don’t ask me how, but I started working for McCarthy. I was maybe 16, and this was before I got pregnant. My boyfriend had gone into basic training, so I started working on the campaign, but then toward the end of May, I went to the airport to see Bobby Kennedy. I took one look at those blue eyes and took off my McCarthy badge. It was an exciting time. I was politically engaged and felt, “Wow, OK, I’ve dealt with the trauma of my own life as a teenager, and then maybe there is a future for me." Q — How do you create a community at a high school? J.H. — Voice. It’s not about my voice, blah, blah, blah, blah. It’s about ensuring that voices are heard. In 2003, I organized a celebration of what Phoenix High School could be. We invited the public, who didn’t really know who I was. People showed up. I invited alumni. I had kids speaking about their dreams for what Phoenix could be. I had teachers hosting the community members as they walked into the classroom. We put blank butcher paper in six different classrooms. And the questions inside every classroom were posted. “What do you want to see when you walk in the front door?” In another classroom a poster with, “What do you want to see in the classroom?” We were listening to the vision of the community. Those answers allowed voice to determine the direction we were heading. So when I say "voice," this is in contrast to Jani sitting in her office with three people deciding the direction of the school. This is not me coming out of the office telling the rest of the student body, “This is where we are going.” That’s not voice. Voice is not how many people agree with me. Voice is: Here is the problem, here is the data, what do you think? And then getting all ideas. Throughout the course of our work at Phoenix High School, it has been the voice of the teachers, the voice of the classified, the voice of the students, the voice of the parents. Q — What are your dreams for Phoenix? What do you hope Phoenix High School will be in 10 years? J.H. — I hope Phoenix embraces the diversity of the community. I hope there is a swimming pool, that there are things for kids to do. We have to embrace the fact that we are a community of kids who need a place to play. They need a pool; they need a community center. I hope we pass a bond. We have a beautiful track that the community uses, but it is torn up. It’s been repaired and repaired and repaired, but it’s torn up. We need to reinvest in the school district. I said 12 years ago when I came, Phoenix is a rough diamond, it just needs polishing. — Steve Boyarsky is a retired educator and longtime resident of the Rogue Valley. He continues to be involved in educational and youth programs. By Interview by Steve Boyarsky MailTribune.com By Interview by Steve Boyarsky Posted Jul. 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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