GCU TODAY • 2 5
mentors already are making their mark on the Title I school.
“Good principals know education, they know classroom instruction
and they know what is possible,” said Dr. Jim Rice, a lifelong educator
and member of GCU’s Board of Directors. “They are visionaries. Eric is
truly a visionary leader. He knows the direction he wants the school to
move to, and he works well with teachers.”
The two met in 2012 when Atuahene applied for the Aspiring
Principals initiative of the Rodel Foundation of Arizona. Rodel selects
future leaders with exemplary traits, pairing them with some of the best
educators in Arizona, and Rice was a member of the selection committee.
Atuahene has a profound respect for Rice, who enjoyed a 40-year
career with the Alhambra Elementary School District and is now the
Union Elementary District’s interim superintendent.
“Dr. Rice was hugely influential with regard to the development of
my leadership,” Atuahene said.
Finding a passion for and pathway to education
Ironically, education was neither Atuahene’s first career choice nor his
major at GCU. He graduated in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in biology
and went out into the world as a lab technician.
GCU gave him more than his diploma. Its Christian-based foundation
and the four years he spent playing soccer and earning all-conference
honors under then-coaches Peter Duah and Petar Draksin helped form
the building blocks of his character.
Atuahene’s passion to help others and make a difference in society
grew as he worked in the private sector for companies such as Motorola
and Intel Corp.
“I did that for some years,” Atuahene said. “It was basically lab work.
I just didn’t feel fulfilled.”
His wife, Andrea, a teacher, urged him to explore a career in
education. He took that advice and was able to parlay his biology degree
and subsequent certification into teaching science in the Phoenix Union
High School and Saddle Mountain Unified School districts.
Atuahene was hooked on the joy of helping children. He had found
his calling but still wanted to do more. After teaching for three years, he
set his sights on transitioning to administration.
In the Rodel program, he was paired with Carrie Prielipp, then
principal of Sunset Ridge Elementary in the Pendergast Elementary
School District and a Rodel Exemplary Principal.
Another mentor is Sandy Kennedy, former principal of Granada
East School in Phoenix. He and Kennedy became partners in 2014 in
Beat the Odds, a program created in 2007 in response to an Arizona
report that predicted the possibility of an undereducated state
workforce. It noted that, although the Latino school-age population is
booming, its graduation rates have remained consistently lower than
that of white students.
Beat the Odds mentors and attempts to empower new principals to raise
student achievement in schools with low-income populations. Atuahene and
nearly 50 other principals meet regularly for training sessions.
A-plus at Quentin: attitude, appearance, academics
At his own school, Atuahene is excited about a collaborative learning
project he launched last year to meet a Beat the Odds goal. Quentin’s
teachers created professional learning communities in which they have
in-depth discussions about students they have in common to create the
best teaching strategies for each.
“If you’re collaborating right, it affects the whole culture,” he said.
Quentin was built in 2004 in an attractive community of stucco and
tile-roof single-family homes with a grassy park and playground nearby.
Yet more than 87 percent of its children qualify for free or reduced-price
lunches. More than 80 percent are Latino.
The school has a dress code, and messages supporting good behavior
appear on the bulletin boards, in school hallways and even in the
bathroom. Integrity and respect were campus buzzwords during fall
semester.
“Integrity means do what you are supposed to do, even when no one
is looking,” Atuahene said.
During a recent school tour, he paused to greet a group of female
students who smiled behind their hands to trap escaping giggles.
“Hi, ladies. Are your shirts tucked in?” Atuahene asked. “Do you have
your passes?”
They nodded yes and yes.
“Thank you for meeting expectations,” he said.
The principal high-fived a grinning kindergartner, then called out to
another student. “Hey, Isaac, make sure your shirt is tucked in,” as the
boy stuffed the garment into his pants.
STARs and Sharks of the month
The district’s “Make Your Day” disciplinary policy has substantially
reduced student visits to the principal’s office, Atuahene said. It urges
teachers to be more proactive in handling situations and emphasizes
rewarding students for good behavior.
Some students are designated as STARs (Students That Are
Responsible) or Sharks (the school mascot) of the month. They receive
paper bricks, stars and flower petals to add to a colorful, construction-
paper montage on a large hallway bulletin board.
Atuahene frequently pops into classes to touch base with teachers
and students, many of whom affectionately refer to him as “Mr. A.”
The visits “provide value and support to the teachers, and they are
refreshing for the kids,” he said.
For example, he was on hand when master teacher Samantha
Armstrong taught eighth-graders a lesson on neuroplasticity, the idea
that the brain isn’t hardwired and fixed but is more like a muscle that
can be exercised.
In Jon Alfred’s eighth-grade history class, Atuahene took a seat as
the class was instructed to write an essay about totalitarianism with
the prompt, “Were we in America just lucky, or did our democratic
traditions keep us from evil thinkers?”
Back in his office, assistant principal Pam Duty poked her head in
to inquire about a meeting that day. She also teased Atuahene about
his long, button-down tan cardigan, saying he looked like “Mr. Rogers”
from the old TV show or “Mr. Robinson” from the “Saturday Night Live”
spoof.
Reform takes time, and Atuahene has learned he must be patient
about it.
“This is my second year, Year 2,” Atuahene said. “I went in thinking
I can change the world right away. Now, I know it’s not going to happen
that quickly.”
