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Freddie McFarland

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By Rob Heidrick and Kelsey Wilkinson Friday, 03 July 2009

Freddie McFarland, Hendrickson High School Principal

Experience: Taught at Pflugerville High School; served as principal at Jarrell High School since 2004; also served as superintendent for both the Kerens and Stockdale school districts.
Education: Bachelor’s from San Angelo State University; master’s from Texas State University

What is your background and where did you receive your education?: I graduated from Angelo State in San Angelo and then from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos with my administrative certification. I have worked in several school districts, most recently in Jarrell the last five years, and prior to that I was in Leander for five years. From 1982 to 1987 I was in Pflugerville. I taught government and American History and coached basketball and football.
What are your aspirations for the next school year? What to change, what to keep?: Well I think right now it would be too early for me to make any decisions about changing anything. With the accountability system in Texas and with The No Child Left Behind Act what we have to do to be successful is getting stricter. The score students have to reach and the number of students who have to get there are going up, and that’s a concern for anyone in a principal’s position. I’ve heard good things about Hendrickson and I want to be smart and conscious and learn about the campus and learn about its culture. I am sure there will be changes because I am a different person, but just to change things because I want to wouldn’t be a very good plan on my part. We [the administrators] need to work with each other and the culture of the school. People sometimes don’t pay attention that schools have their own personality and you have to honor that. Beyond that, changes will occur because different people have different styles. When we have a team where three of the six people are new, the personalities of the leadership will change. It will be interesting, and it will be a challenge for the faculty. Anytime there is a leadership change people get nervous and apprehensive. We are going to move on things that need to be moved on, but we aren’t just coming in and changing what’s already there. It’s always a challenge whether you are going into a big school or a small one.
What do you hope students take away from their high school experience?: I want them to grow and mature and be able to enter into the society and culture when they leave high school, wherever they want to be, and do it successfully. I also want them to leave thinking that school is somewhere they are glad they are able to be, someplace they enjoyed participating in. To enjoy high school they have to get involved in it. If you try to stay removed or distant from what’s going on at the school you don’t enjoy it very much because you don’t become a part of the culture. It’s important to get involved and join organizations that make the school what it is. Building school spirit makes the student happy to go up there.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a principal?: The hardest challenge we face is so much diversity in the schools. When I started in the business, kids that didn’t want to be in school could just quit school at 16. We don’t do that anymore. We have changed remarkably for the better and we want everyone to be there. We want everyone to finish. We want everyone to be successful. High school students get to a point where they feel like their own individual and they don’t like restrictions and parameters. One of the biggest challenges is keeping kids motivated, involved and interested and getting them to work hard. The accountability standards are tough and there are pulls in many directions that we face everyday. The school is the place where you deliver everything for kids from ages five to 21. The school delivers health care, food and anything that someone needs during the school day. On top of all that, we also make sure that they can read, and write and do mathematics. It’s a challenge to keep focus. We can’t let a kid be hungry. We can’t let them be abused because they won’t be successfully academically, but it cant be the number one focus.
What do you think people would be surprised to know about a principal’s job?: I’ve seen different people come in and be shocked with how hectic it is. People come in and watch me do my job and when things calm down they would say, ‘Do you realize that you have answered three questions to kids, four more to adults, signed two pieces of paper and did it all while carrying on a conversation with me?’ I don’t realize it because that’s what goes on everyday, and that’s how the job works. They say the average person makes five really tough decisions a day, and a teacher makes 150 of those critical decisions in a day, and nurses are even worse. It’s what makes it so stressful and so draining. Of course for me, I like it and it wears me out, but for the most part I like that constant activity. It’s a kind of like controlled chaos. At the end of the day you can sit down and sort out what went on and how many wins and how many losses and where to pick up the pieces and start tomorrow. At the end of the day you don’t get stuff completed, you just pick up the ball and bring it down the field. Even with graduation, you get the last kids across the stage and then go back and work on the ones that are left.
What do you think is unique or special about Pflugerville ISD?: It was a little bitty 3A school, but then it took off and grew to be a large school district and maintained its high standard. Kids that I have worked with are so successful.
As a principal, what can you do to adjust to rapid growth within a school or community?: You don’t have the time to slow down and think about it. You have to have a solid philosophical base for what you want to accomplish: student success. You have to constantly ask if you are meeting that primary goal. If you are changing rapidly, you have to maintain structures to bring people in and make them a part of your program. It’s crucial to build relationships, so they can be successful.
What, as a principal, can you do to minimize drop out rates?: The most important thing you can do to prevent it is to build a relationship with the kids. If they feel they have a place and feel worthwhile they won’t drop out. There are kids that go through high school and few people know them. If we get to know them and make them feel special they won’t drop out. We have to be aware that there are special needs that kids have and there are special issues, so we have to put things in place to make them feel welcome. I don’t know what those things are at Hendrickson, but those are things that I will spend part of June and July trying to figure out.