I’d heard many good things about East High school principal Luis Hinojosa, from City Year volunteers working in his school, to teachers who worked with him, to KCPS administration.
I had to see for myself. So, during the last busy week of school, “Principal H” as his staff calls him, spent an hour with me. At first it was frustrating. I wanted to know his secrets, what made him different and why he was named the Principal of the Year for KC’s public schools.
Principal H simply would not talk about himself. He spoke enthusiastically about his Vice Principals (rock stars) and waxed poetically about East’s great teaching staff of over 65 instructors.
It wasn’t until I happened upon Vice Principal Ben Richardson that I heard specifics. Ben talked about Principal H’s open door policy and team problem solving. He said his emails are positive and inspiring. The principal puts his team first, as witnessed by his monthly gatherings with his staff, where he does something special for them. “I put teachers on a pedestal,” Hinojosa explained. “Our teachers are on the front line with our students and I need to support them in every way possible.”
Principal Hinojosa knew in seventh grade that he wanted to be a teacher. And years later, he delights in creating science experiments with his instructors, like throwing boiling water up in the cold air to create snow or creatively enhancing teaching skills by using the synonym game “Password.”
East High School is Kansas City’s largest, with over 1200 students. And Principal Hinojosa (who came at mid year after four years at Whittier Elementary) is determined to meet every one. He tries to visit regularly with students during lunch to ask what they need at East.
His approach works. While Hinojosa was at Whittier Elementary, the school moved from number 18 in the KCPS district to one of the top elementary schools in Kansas City in math, reading and science scores. On the first days of school at Whittier, Hinojosa visited every classroom to share the previous year’s test results and his vision for the school. The students and the teachers had a clear idea of what they needed to learn, with a focus on being critical thinkers.
When touring the school, he urged students to get to class on time, as several approached him with a cheerful hello or High Five. Hinojosa’s sense of urgency and focus on creating a culture of respect is very apparent. I left East High School inspired, because I saw what servant leadership looks like. It looks like Principal of the Year, Luis Hinojosa.
