Having worn through five principals in the last four years, El Rincon Elementary School was rather desperately hunting for stability last summer when Reggie Brunson was hired as the New Man in the Office, the principal, the latest in a chorus line.
Let there be no doubt these days who is in charge at El Rincon, starting physically. A strapping gentleman of imposing dimensions, he is a seasoned educator crackling with imaginative ideas.
His war record is demonstrative proof of his endurance — he not only has survived but triumphed over the strongest challenges that years of educational combat in LAUSD’s schools can throw at a leader. His background heavily has been on charter school campuses.
Principal Assets
School Board President Scott Zeidman glows when he speaks of Mr. Brunson, a necktie-wearing, sleeves-rolled-up, traditional-style administrator.
“He is charismatic, he is very active and he listens,” said Mr. Zeidman. “Oh, he has ideas. But he is quite willing to listen to others’ ideas and then implement.”
Without hesitation, Mr. Brunson, a Chicago native who has spent his entire professional life in LAUSD, quickly lists two reasons he chose his career:
“I like to see when the light comes on, and I like to help kids through their trouble,” he said.
Then it was his turn to light up when he reflected on his first two months at El Rincon.
Getting to Know You
“It has been fantastic,” he says with a bounce, drawing out the descriptive term to a couple of extra syllables.
“This is not my first job being an administrator. However, it is my first job as an administrator in the District. So there are some details that are different from being in the charter world.
“I can say the administration here, Ms. Jaffe, Ms. Lockhart, Ms. Carroll — everyone in the District office — has been so supportive and helpful.
“My staff is amazing. The parents of El Rincon are so positive. Having so many principals in such a short time, they open their arms. They open their hearts. They let me come in. And they have been helpful to me in helping their children.”
One of the most pleasant early sounds parents heard from the new principal was that schools he has led have been known for the character of their students. “I try to instill three rules in my students — be responsible, be safe, be respectful,” he says.
“We are always talking to the kids about ‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ ‘excuse me,’ ‘may I please?,’ ‘I am sorry,’ and things like that.
Hallmarks of Brunson
“When you come into a school where I am an administrator, first you will see students with good character. Second, I want to see consistency, and in our classrooms, you will see teachers teaching vocabulary and reading comprehension. You will see rubrics in our classrooms. We want to make sure the students know what we are teaching. And we need to make sure they know what they need to make an ‘A’ and to become proficient in the classroom.”
The unique stamp of Mr. Brunson was evident last evening when El Rincon students and families — not just students — celebrated the first specialized science-type fair of the year, Space Night.
First, a little context.
“I believe a year ago, the teachers took a charge to come with a focus for our school with STEM, science, technology, engineering and math,” he said.
“We want to instill that in our students. A number of young ladies are excellent in math and technology, engineering and math. But when they get to Middle School and high school, they kind of drop out of that.”
In an effort to correct the falloff, El Rincon is starting to address these subjects as early as kindergarten, Mr. Brunson says.
“Our kindergartners have a chance to go to our science lab and actually do science experiments,” the principal said. “That is throughout the school. Just last week, our first graders dissected squids, which was amazing.
“We are instilling a love of science in our students, not just through textbooks but also by experiments so they can practice and see things happening.
“For the technology and the math, we have our computer lab. We have technology in our classrooms, which is one way to keep our students engaged throughout the day for instruction.
“The engineering piece kind of ties in with the science. Upstairs, they are building lunar landers tonight. So that is engineering right there. They have to make sure that a little rock or pebble, when they drop it, does not pop out of the cup. That is our connection to landing on the moon and making sure the astronauts are safe.”
Last night’s event purposely was designed to be an intimate affair.
El Rincon has about 450 students.
For the first Space Night of the year, Mr. Brunson said, “we didn’t want to make it too big. We opened it to 60 families. So Mom, Dad, baby brother, baby sister, big brother and sister from the Middle School or high school can come.
“We want to actually bring the family together. All of the activities we have are geared to the family doing it in unison, not the kids off and the parents in another spot. We want to bring them together.”
Applications to participate in Space Night were opened to the entire school — first come, first signed up. The lucky 60 ranged from kindergarteners with their parents to fifth graders with their parents.
Mr. Brunson smiled. “I am happy to say a number of parents were very upset because they weren’t able to get in,” he said. “That means when we do it again, which we will, we will be able to open it to more parents. Hopefully, parents who have come to the first Space Night will help us so we can expand.”
Among the faculty and around the El Rincon campus, people are saying that in Mr. Brunson, they believe they finally have found a keeper in the principal’s office.
