Walter Johnson has a new slogan for Robert B. Glenn High School: The place where greatness grows.

“Growing academically, growing as an athlete, growing as a person. … We just want to pull that greatness out of you and grow it.”

After two highly publicized incidents last school year — a stabbing and a recorded fight that made its rounds online — Johnson steps into his new role as principal seeking to change the narrative around Glenn. 

He says the negative representation is “really based off of people running their mouths on social media. It’s not because people have been in the building to see the good things that we have going on here.”

Scope News spoke to Johnson about his background, why he wanted to come to Glenn, and his vision for this school year. 

Johnson earned an Education Specialist degree from East Carolina University, a Master’s in School Administration from Appalachian State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education from Winston-Salem State University. He has 24 years of experience in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School district, including at Southeast Middle School and East Forsyth High School, with positions ranging from math teacher to central office program manager helping students who are on the verge of dropping out, to assistant principal and principal. 

Johnson spent last school year participating in an alternative leadership model as co-principal of Parkland High School in Winston-Salem designed to give the school extra support. Due to budget issues within WS/FCS, the arrangement could not continue. Johnson and his co-principal discussed their respective school preferences and waited to see which schools would become available before deciding who would leave. When Robert B. Glenn High School opened up, Johnson jumped at the opportunity. 

“I wanted to come here because Glenn’s demographics are similar to that of Parkland — the larger population here is our students of color, our Hispanic students and our African-American students,” Johnson said. “So I feel like there is definitely a place here for me to be the best role model and to lead us into excellence.”

Parkland suffered from a similar negative representation as a violent school. Johnson said he and his co-principal made progress reducing the number of acts of violence last year and he aims to do the same at Glenn. 

SCHOOL SAFETY

“Every school has their issues. Every school has their drama. Every school has their fights. It’s consistent in every school. You just have people [at other schools]  who are able to keep the news and the press out of their business as opposed to in our Black and Brown majority schools.” 

Johnson’s most valuable tool to decrease the number of fights? Visibility. 

“I believe in being the most visible person that there is in the building. … I am walking around throughout the day for people to see me — for students and for teachers — to let them know that I am looking, I am watching you,” he said. “Eventually we will catch you if you’re doing something you’re not supposed to do.”

Johnson relocated his office from the main entrance to the most heavily-trafficked hallway in the school not only to better monitor, but to build better relationships with students and staff. 

“Yes, I’m the principal, but that doesn’t mean I’m this big, scary person because I’m not. I want them to feel comfortable enough to come and talk with me for the good things and for if they see an issue or something going on and they want to alert me.”

Also in the interest of school safety, Johnson moved the main office from adjacent to the cafeteria to a more isolated and controlled entrance on the Union Cross side of the school. This way, angry parents alleging bullying or harassment against their children cannot come in the doors, bypass the office, and quickly reach students eating lunch in the open cafeteria. 

SCHOOL PRIDE 

“I want people to be proud of Glenn, proud of what comes out of Glenn, proud of the academics that is happening here at Glenn. So that is even down to simple things like pep rallies.”

Glenn stopped having pep rallies a couple years ago due to safety concerns. 

“My mindset is that I’m not going to let a small group of students keep the other 1,300-plus students from doing fun things to celebrate their school,” Johnson said. “It truly is a small group of students, 50 to 100 students that are the ones that tend to get in trouble. No, I will deal with those 50 to 100 students, but everybody else, we’re going to function as a school and we’re gonna keep moving.”

Johnson’s plan became a bit more difficult with the district’s recent Reduction-In-Force: Glenn will lose three of its four assistant principals — the administrators responsible for managing student discipline and behavior — on Sept. 12. 

When Scope News caught up with him about this news after the interview, he lamented the losses, but remained optimistic about his plan. 

Melvin Heggie, Glenn’s women’s basketball coach who returned after working at the school from 2012-2020, sees the impact Johnson has made despite the district’s troubles. 

“Mr. Johnson is doing an amazing job thus far as far as the engagement of the students, the engagement of the staff,” said Heggie. “He’s been a breath of fresh air for the school in light of the current situation going on in the county.”

ACADEMICS 

“Obviously, our focus is academics. So we have to make changes in our tested areas, mainly math one and math one is not an issue just for Glenn. Math one scores are a concern for the whole district and the whole state of North Carolina.”

Johnson says his goal is a 5% to 7% improvement over last year’s state-mandated assessment scores. 

“But in order for that to happen, we got to look at these other outliers like discipline, school spirit, school climate and culture, because our teachers have to want to be here as well,” he said. “If they don’t feel appreciated, they don’t feel like the culture that they’re working in is working, then that attitude is going to be poured out on students.”

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