James Gordon/Professional/The American Triumph Journal

James Gordon III is an assistant principal at John Rolfe Middle School located at 6901
Messer Rd. Richmond, Va. He was hired in March 2008 after being an administrative
intern at Highland Springs High School. He is a graduate of James Madison University,
having majored in Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies and minored in Middle Education. He
has a Master's degree in Educational Leadership. He has known he wanted to have a
career working with kids since he was in high school. He is working hard to make a
positive impact upon the lives of the students at John Rolfe. Americantriumphjournal.
com spoke with James Gordon August 26, 2008; at the time he was 26-years-old.

He described some parts of his typical day.

“I usually arrive about 10 minutes before school starts,” Gordon said. “I check my email
from my principal and central office... At 8:00 I am on bus duty. I check for things like
sagging pants and flip flops. I pull kids who violate the dress code. I call parents and
ask them to bring their child a change of clothes... (After bus duty) I check referrals from
the previous day. I go to classrooms and pull the kids who were referred. First offense
depending on the seriousness can just be a warning... I do walk throughs in the
hallways.”

Gordon said, when dealing with the faculty he is “fair, firm and consistent.” He said,
when he observes classrooms, he is not out to catch a teacher doing something wrong.
He said, he is there to help them by offering different suggestions and “piggy backing
ideas with them.” He manages the English, Reading, and Science departments at John
Rolfe. He said, he sits down with the department chairs and discusses the strengths and
areas of growth of their departments. He described himself as a coach and said he also
helps to define their goals.

“I really truly care about the students and the faculty,” he said.

Gordon described how John Rolfe goes out of its way to reward its exceptional staff. He
mentioned how John Rolfe's principal, Andy Armstrong, recently approved the budget for
20 teachers and faculty to get a professional massage at a spa before the upcoming
2008 school year.

Gordon described what he looks for when he conducts interviews for teachers looking to
work at John Rolfe.

“I look to see if they are the right fit for the school community,” he said. “I look for the
vibe I get from them…Will they call parents for positive reasons? Are they good for this
particular population? I look for excitement and passion…or does this person just want
a job.”

Gordon was born and raised in Richmond, Va. While growing up, his mother worked as
a nurse for MCV hospital. His father was a factory worker for Phillip Morris. He said, his
mother gave love and his father gave discipline. His parents were separated for most of
his childhood and he said, he was raised by his mother. His mother encouraged him to
dream and think big. She also gave him a lesson on pity.

“She used to always tell me and my brother, I don't feel sorry for either of you,” he said.
“We were on the reduced lunch program at school... There were things that we wanted
that our mother couldn't afford... I always wanted a pair of Jordan’s and I never got a
pair. I didn't understand it then.”

Gordon said, his mother taught him that feeling sorry for yourself doesn't change
anything. He said, he applies that lesson to disciplining kids at John Rolfe. He said, he
doesn't feel sorry for people and he doesn't make excuses for people. He said, if a
student is having a problem he will work on solutions to solve that problem.

Gordon graduated from Highland Springs High School located at 15 S. Oak, Richmond,
Va. In high school, he was an honor student graduating with a 4.0 grade point average
and involved in many activities. He ran middle distance on the indoor track team and
ran on the cross country team. He was president of the Key Club and a member of the
Beta Club. He was voted by his classmates to speak at his graduation. He described
himself as shy during high school. He attended college with the aid of scholarships.

During his collegiate career he student-taught history at John Rolfe, worked at
Kindercare and was a teacher for the alternative middle school, Mount Vernon. He
said, Mount Vernon was an eye opening experience and he learned a lot.

“I was the fourth teacher hired during that school year to teach this class,” he said.
“When I got there, the students were managing themselves. I learned that they didn't
care about my college degree or my (teaching) license.... The students had real
problems and didn't feel the lessons I taught were relevant. I had to work hard to get
them to relate to me.”

Gordon said some of the problems he had relating to the class was their history of being
abandoned by teachers. He was the fourth teacher hired for one class during the
course of one school year. He taught at Mount Vernon for three and a half years. He
said he formed some good relationships with the students there. He still keeps in touch
with some of those students today.

He was asked what does he see himself doing in the next five years.

“I see myself still working with young people,” he said. “I really enjoy what I'm doing.”

August 26, 2008

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James Gordon

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