Jennings County High School Principal Dustin Roller recently became a student for a day as part of a psychology experiment, and to use the experience for development.
Jennifer Ertel, an English teacher, sent Roller an article last school year about a school that utilized student shadowing as a professional development tool, the principal said.
“She challenged me to give it a try and I took that challenge to heart,” Roller said.
Roller said he plans to shadow a student each nine weeks. His first return to student status was Sept. 26.
Roller wanted to shadow a student that he had built a relationship with, so the student would feel comfortable. He also wants to be known as Dustin or “Dusty” for the day. Roller followed Ashley Follmer from class to class to experience a day in the life of a high school student.
“He fit right in and I know my friends enjoyed being able to talk to him on a not-so-serious level, as if he was just one of us,” Ashley said.
Roller started the day at 8 a.m. to discuss a fundraiser with one of Ashley’s club sponsors. As the first bell rang, he headed to his first period, which was ACP English. The class, at the time, was writing a significant paper, so Roller joined in group discussion and helped students formulate different ideas.
“The classes were challenging. I was amazed to see how much authentic thought students in Ashley’s ACP English class were putting into their papers,” he said.
Next came Strategic Marketing, which had a substitute teacher for the day. After second period was homeroom, and Roller attended a National Honor Society meeting with Ashley. Following homeroom was psychology class, and the students had a test that day. Roller used to teach psychology at the high school, so the first half of the class he spent reviewing the test material with a study group.
“One of the best experiences was when another senior student Rachel Morris asked me if I wanted to study for the psychology test. She taught me several tricks to remember things that I wish I would have had when I was teaching psychology,” Roller said.
Then the bell rang for B lunch, so Roller and his friends left class and headed to the cafeteria before taking the test. After lunch, it was time to take the psychology test, which Dustin did exceptionally well on.
For the last class of the day, Dustin headed to probability and statistics. The class reviewed the previous homework and took notes for the new lesson. No homework was assigned that day, to the benefit of Roller.
To finish the school day, Roller attended a Key Club meeting after school with Ashley. Roller said he was surprised by how busy he was throughout the day.
“From the time that she met me in the front office we were constantly on the move to meetings, classes or to discuss upcoming plans with club sponsors,” Roller said.
Despite the full day of bustling around the hallways, Roller said he enjoyed interacting with the students in a more relaxed environment than his normal professional setting.
“I love that our principal is willing to go to extreme measures to make (Jennings County High School) a better place. Mr. Roller is very easy to talk to, even in his administrative position,” Ashley said.
Students said they found it interesting to see their principal spend a day from a student’s perspective, and to actively see their principal trying to make the school a better place.
“I think many times as adults we make decisions for students without asking their perspective. It was great to see their perspective through their eyes,” Roller said.
This experiment is something Roller said he hopes to continue for years, to improve the school for the students and staff.
