Educational Leadership:
Principal L. F. Palmer and W. D. Scales

The Secondary School Study was establishing new roles for educational administrators as had occurred during the 1930s with the Progressive Education Association’s Eight Year Study. Democratic ideals served to define the experimental efforts of schools; however, the venue for this new conception of leadership maintained traditional ideals of authoritarian rule by administrators and teachers. The principal was expected to provide direction and instill confidence while also fostering a sense of curricular flexibility and extending instructional authority among the staff. Legendary principal Lutrelle Fleming Palmer (1888-1950), who served as Huntington’s first principal from 1920-1943, was described as soft-spoken, gentle, and patient, easily winning “the respect, even reverence, of the hundreds of boys and girls who passed through Huntington High.” Palmer received undergraduate degrees from Wilberforce and University of Michigan, a masters degree from Hampton Institute, and an honorary doctorate from Virginia Union University. He taught at Wilberforce, Atlanta University, Virginia State College and, after his principalship at Huntington High School, Hampton Institute where he would develop an innovative teacher education program.

“Mr. Palmer was soft spoken, firm, and compassionate. He wanted the students to take courses where they were being prepared for the world and not just for the next grade. And he felt that education, this preparation, included service to the community.”
Hattie Thomas Lucas

After Palmer’s dismissal by the Newport News school board, William Drewry Scales (1904-1988) accepted the role as principal from 1943-1969. Scales received his baccalaureate from Johnson C. Smith College in Charlotte, later obtaining a masters degree from University of Iowa. Scales was brought into Huntington as an outsider, clearly the intent of those who were determining policy. The atmosphere at Huntington was quite complex as Scales assumed leadership of the school, in part because Palmer was so beloved and so mistreated and partly because he would stay within the community, accepting a teaching post at Hampton Institute. The fact that Principal Scales would remain at Huntington High School for the next 26 years is a clear indication of his abilities as an educational and community leader.

William Drewry Scales
principal from 1943-1969

“Mr. Scales proved to be an intelligent visionary and a strong disciplinarian, dedicated to excellence in education and high ideals for Huntington High School. He committed himself to the high standards of social, intellectual, and cultural development envisioned by the founding principal. However, he did it his way. Consistently, firmly, and fairly he imposed his own leadership style, earning him the affection of students and the respect and admiration of the faculty and community. In time both William Drewry Scales and Huntington High School survived the crisis of losing Dr. Palmer.” Huntington High School: Symbol of Community Hope and Unity

 “Mr. Scales certainly led the school but also allowed the teachers to guide the programs. Teachers were given the flexibility and opportunity to determine the academic content for and with the students. The teachers were proud to be there and were proud to work with Mr. Scales and the school community. They saw themselves as true teachers.”
Freddie B. Allen

 “While Principal Scales had a commanding presence, we knew he was truly interested in the students.” Ernestine Brown Bunn

Mildred R. Wilson

 “We had a strong and dedicated staff. The cooperation among the teachers at Huntington High School was wonderful. And so was the leadership. Principal Scales was clear in what he expected from us inside and outside of the classroom. But he would also allow us to teach in our own way.”
Mildred R. Wilson