Name: Clay Jones

Title: Pampa High School Principal

Organisation: Pampa ISD

Clay Jones currently serves as the Principal of a rural Texas high school with an enrollment of around 1,000 students. He is in his third year at the helm of Pampa High School after serving two years as an Assistant Principal at the same campus. He is an active member of the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals.

Prior to getting into campus administration, Clay was a teacher and a coach in other small rural communities as well as a large West Texas city. He has served as an Assistant Athletic Director and held Head Track and football coordinator positions in the three largest classifications of the University Interscholastic League High School Football in Texas. Over his sixteen-year career in public education, he has content knowledge and teaching experience in Accounting, Business, Graphic Design, Web Design, Advanced Placement World History, and Video Game Design.

Clay attended Texas Tech University's Rawls College of Business, where he graduated with Honors and isa member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. He received his Master of Arts in Secondary Education and completed his Educational Leadership Certificate from Lubbock Christian University.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Clay's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

Educational Leadership is a balancing act on a daily basis. As a campus leader, daily, we must make decisions that address various stakeholder positions including students, parents, staff, central office administrators, state organizations, and federal requirements. More often than not, it's impossible to reach a decision that makes all parties feel heard and supported. The biggest challenge is leading in a manner that makes our staff feel supported while still addressing individual concerns of all the other aforementioned groups.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I have been blessed to serve in leadership roles through my educational journeys since I was 26 years old. Most of my early experience came from leading in the athletics arena while I was a Head Track Coach and Assistant Athletic Director. I initially got into the educational field with the hopes and dreams of leading athletic departments.

Once I had my children, it became more and more difficult to be fully invested in being a father and fully devoted to spending the time necessary to give my teams the opportunity to be successful. As the strain of these two areas of my life increased, I reached the lowest point in my educational career as the community turned on our staff, and support and backing from district leadership was vacant. I was ready to leave education and return to the business world.

My family ended up moving communities, then COVID provided a unique opportunity for me to step into campus administration, and I chose to leave Athletics for Campus Admin. I quickly realized my purpose and priorities had changed from building athletic programs to serving and protecting staff and students from the experiences I had at my previous spot. I've devoted my life to ensuring individuals under my charge never have the experiences I did.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I start off most days with an early morning workout. This is normally the only time of day I get to be by myself, and I find that therapeutic. Anyone in campus leadership knows our days can go from calm to chaotic in an instant. I spend most of my days addressing needs, arranging logistical matters, managing meetings, and providing support to staff.

If I have free time, I try to check in with as many staff members as possible. When I leave work, I try to unplug from my phone from the time I walk through the door until my kids are in bed to be fully present (oftentimes I fail in this area). I have my phone programmed for "Do Not Disturb" starting at 9:00 to give me an opportunity to relax and unwind prior to sleep.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

I'm often reminded that every interaction I have is either building or eroding culture. It's a scary thought that we hold this much power, but it's true, and it places a huge level of importance on how we address people.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

I learned more about leadership from reading Jason B.A. Van Camp's "Deliberate Discomfort' than any other book I've read recently. The book does a wonderful job of taking the experience of military heroes and applying it to principles that impact leaders in all sorts of walks of life. I really enjoyed their sections on trust and how to sharpen processing.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

Leadership can be lonely. Make sure you are getting into educational leadership for the right reasons. The average principal in the United States doesn't stay in their role for longer than 4 years. If you are going to withstand the pressures and responsibilities, you have to be grounded in who you are, what you believe in, and be okay with people questioning you.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

It's not really a story, but nothing compares to watching your students and staff flourish. My desk is adorned with graduation announcements, wedding save-the-dates, and baby announcements. As I'm typing this and looking at each picture, I can recall interacting with each of the individuals who took time to make sure I was included in their accomplishments, and that is so awesome. The impact we have on the lives we touch is by far the best part of our calling.