Boulevard head says award a credit to district

Group names Komp 2008 Elementary Principal of the Year

By RODNEY MINOR, The Leader-Herald
GLOVERSVILLE — Boulevard Elementary School Principal Thomas Komp claims he does not deserve the award for 2008 Elementary Principal of the Year.

The award from the School Administrators Association of New York State should go to the entire school district, he said.

“It is an honor for myself, no question, but it is a validation of what we do as a school district,” Komp said.

According to a news release, the award is given annually to a member of SAANYS who has set the pace, character and quality of education for the children in his or her school. Nominees are elementary school principals who are committed to students, parents and the community and have shown exceptional contributions to the educational process, the new release said.

Gloversville Enlarged School District Superintendent Robert DeLilli said the association recognized the work Komp has done at Boulevard, specifically with an education system known as Response to Intervention.

“[Komp] really understands RTI and how it should be implemented,” he said. “Tom has spoken all over the state, and the country, about this.”

This is Komp’s seventh year at Boulevard, and he has spent every one working with RTI.

While it is difficult to explain without using too much “educational jargon,” he said, RTI basically involves using periodic tests to make sure the 650 students in the school are improving their reading ability. By keeping track of precise statistical information about a student’s test scores, the teachers know if they need to intervene and design a specific learning program for the student, Komp said.

“[RTI] helps us catch a problem [the student has] early, before it becomes more difficult to correct in the future,” he said.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Roger Rooney said Komp has proven to be talented at developing programs and working with his staff to help children.

“It’s a difficult [job], but Tom is a very good leader for his teachers and students,” Rooney said.

As a result of the RTI model, special education classification rates have dropped by 66 percent, Komp said. The students’ scores on state assessment tests are also improving, thanks to the intervention work done at a young age.

In a school district where roughly 25 percent of the students qualify for some form of special education or needs assistance, he said, it can be a tough population to educate.

The staff at the school has responded by reaching out to parents and putting extra time in with their students, Komp said. That has been even more important than the training the staff received to understand and respond to the RTI data, he said.

“I think what is unique about our school is how dedicated the staff is. They will go [teach] at a student’s home if they have to,” Komp said.

Komp’s travels around the country took him to Tennessee last weekend to speak about RTI at a conference of school administrators. Doing presentations over the last couple of years has helped Komp understand how fortunate he is to work in Gloversville, he said.

“Seeing other education systems, ... I’d say we are extremely fortunate to have the resources we do,” Komp said.

Komp will be honored for his accomplishments at an awards ceremony May 9 at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs.

As New York’s Elementary School Principal of the Year, Komp is now a candidate for the award of National Elementary School Principal of the Year, according to the news release.



Rodney Minor covers Gloversville. He can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com.