Jackson Public Schools Principal Mitchell Shears has been named the JPS Administrator of the Year. He also has been selected the 2nd Congressional District Administrator of the Year. Shears is in the running for State Administrator of the Year.
Shears, who has recently been named to head the Bates Elementary School which will enroll students in 2010-2011, has been an educator in JPS for nine years and has served as Principal of Clausell Elementary for the past four years. Under his leadership, Clausell increased from a Level 2 to a Level 4 school and has remained a High Performing school under the state's new accountability model. In 2009, the school was named a National Title I Distinguished School representing the state of Mississippi. That same year, Clausell also became the first JPS elementary school to induct members into the National Elementary Honor Society and was designated as a Founding Chapter.
Shears' success as an instructional leader is built on his belief that "despite being high poverty and/or high minority, we can and will perform at high levels despite the odds that may be stacked against us."
Former students like Jasmine Brooks agree with that philosophy. In her recommendation letter, Brooks describes the "life lessons" she remembers most about Shears and the integrity he showed in keeping his commitment to attend the graduation ceremonies of the members of the 5th grade class he taught at Green Elementary in 2001. Now a student at Mississippi College, Brooks describes her own determination to be an educator because of Shears' influence.
Community and parent outreach initiatives begun by Shears and his staff at Clausell led to a 100 percent increase in parent participation that was recognized by the Mississippi PTA in 2007. One of the innovative programs, funded by a grant from the National Association of Principals and referred to as Trading Spaces, involved parents trading spaces with their students for a night. Parents wore uniforms, switched classes and participated in classroom activities. A separate program encouraged parents and parent figures to volunteer three hours of time each year and culminated in a pinning ceremony for successful participants. One grandmother, who volunteered more than 100 hours through the program, was honored with a graduation ceremony and several awards.
Shears is a graduate of Alcorn State University where he received both a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications and a Master of Science in Elementary Education. He received an Education Specialist in Educational Leadership from Mississippi College and is currently working a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership. Shears attended the Principals Center at Harvard University in 2007. Shears also participated in the Japan Fulbright Memorial Teacher Fund Program in 2005.