Mrs. Saiff is the Principal of GOAL (Growth and Opportunity through Alternative Learning). She attended Le Moines College in Syracuse for an undergraduate degree. Following this, she earned her master’s degree at SUNY Brockport, and eventually pursued an administrative degree at University of Rochester.
Since 7th grade, Mrs. Saiff wanted to be a teacher. She achieved that goal and became a social studies teacher—working at Schroeder for 25 years during which she taught both GOAL and mainstream. Her reason for becoming an administrator is because she found herself “complaining a lot” and her theory is “if all you do is complain, you’re just a witch that complains.” Seeking change and improvement is a trait needed for leaders.
The foremost change that Mrs. Saiff wanted was more opportunity for struggling students. She made it clear that the kids in the GOAL program are not “naughty,” they are having their needs fulfilled in a different setting. She works hard to provide a space that these teens can thrive in. Schroeder is enormous—both the building and the enrollment. By contrast, GOAL is one singular hallway, with less people, to help those who experience academic and social struggles. Since the program has just a fraction of the student enrollment at Schroeder’s main campus, teachers are also able to get to know their students, as the teachers stay the same all four years.
One of the best characteristics of GOAL is the sense of community. The program holds events that students treat as mandatory such as prom, orientation, and end of the year picnic. They attend many field trips and the students really have a chance to connect with their colleagues and teachers. Balancing personal and professional relationships in GOAL can be difficult, since they are all so close. A core group of teachers—Mr. Holly, Mr. Klehr, Mr. Sanfilippo, Mr. Close, and Mr. Erdley—have all stayed working for the entire time GOAL has been a program. Compared to other alternative schooling programs, this is a huge achievement. Most other programs are only able to keep teachers from 3-4 years.
Although people tend to make assumptions about behavior in altnerative learning programs, the happenings in GOAL are akin to that of Schroeder: kids get into fights, skip school, and use substances. They also graduate, do their assignments, learn, and show up. The attendance of GOAL is within a 1% margin of both Thomas and Schroeder High Schools. The aforementioned negative behaviors are present among teens as a whole, not just the alternative program.
However, there are differences in order and practices in GOAL. Mrs. Saiff values teacher and student respect both ways. If there is internal conflict, they solve it by talking it out. She doesn’t see much efficiency in suspension or detention. She’s had teachers apologize to students and she’s had students apologize to teachers. Ultimately, the students are really given a space to succeed in an environment of mutual respect.
