Wright State’s Jacqueline McMillan Principal for a Day

Dr. McMillan meeting and shaking hands at lunchtime with Dunbar High School college bound student athletes l-r: Deontae Hawkins, Andre' Yates, Dr. McMillan, Jeremy Jackson, Jerry Hill-guidance counselor- and Gary Akbar.

Sometimes it’s smart to take a short break at overseeing enrollment at a major university to get a peek at the future.

Jacqueline McMillan, Ph.D., vice president for Enrollment Management at Wright State University, served as Principal for a Day on Nov. 18 at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Dayton.

“This is a great connection for Wright State University,” McMillan said. “I hope we will continue to build, enhance and expand our connections with the Dayton public high schools and elementary schools.”

The Principal for a Day program is designed to bring community leaders into schools for a firsthand look at the decisions and responsibilities that principals face daily. The goal is to build or deepen relationships with the community leaders and give them an idea of the strengths of Dayton Public Schools as well as their challenges.

The “principals” typically tour the school building, monitor the lunchroom, meet with teachers, take questions from students and assume other duties normally handled by the actual principal. Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell served as Principal for a Day at Thurgood Marshall High School in 2009.

Dunbar Principal Marlayna A. Randolph said having a college vice president as a principal will enable students to learn what it takes to get into college and be successful.

“I would hope she would take away some of the students’ perspectives,” Randolph said of McMillan.

McMillan took a tour of the high school, sat in on classes, talked to students and participated in a college fair.

“We need to better understand not only how students interact with teachers and administrators, but also how we can better connect with them to provide the information they’ll need and to answer the questions they might have,” McMillan said. “We want to make sure that students understand how to navigate the pathway from high school to college.”

Randolph said the biggest challenge for her as a high school principal is having to wear so many hats. She finds herself not only administrating, but also teaching, counseling and even doing a little social work.

The most satisfying part of the job, she says, is seeing the students graduate.

“It’s a journey they have completed, and they don’t even know what that means and what lies ahead for them,” she said. “That’s the best day of the year.”

McMillan said she wants to help students become comfortable talking to college administrators to help demystify the college experience. Hopefully, she said, this will translate into students being prepared to engage with faculty and staff so they can fully understand the educational opportunities open to them.

And she hopes to take something away from the Principal for a Day experience for herself.

“Maybe it’s just to be reminded that it’s not about us; it’s about the students,” she said.