Board work in the eyes of clients - Leadership Lite - school administrators - Brief Article

School Administrator, June, 2002

What Board Members Do

In honor of School Board Recognition Week last fall, the five schools in the Pearl River, N.Y., school district each adopted a board member for a month.

Board President Quinton Van Wynen Jr., who was assigned to Franklin Avenue Elementary School, asked the pupils to write about his important governance role.

Some responses:

* "He helps people do their homework."

* "He writes on a lot of important papers."

* "He makes sure the snack prices are low enough for the kids to buy because the moms don't want to spend $2 on our snacks."

* "He decides if we should have a bowling contest."

New Mothers Galore

Short of handing out contraceptives to her staff, Anna Stallings, principal at Soddy-Daisy Elementary School in Chattanooga, Tenn., knew she had to take drastic action as she was about to lose nine classroom teachers to long-term maternity leave.

She devised a novel solution to getting those teachers back in the classroom: She opened an onsite childcare center.

The school received a childcare license from the state and now operates a nursery in a separate building on the school's campus. More than half of the new-mom teachers have returned to the school by using the close-by childcare.

Now three additional teachers will soon become first-time mothers. "It's contagious," says Stallings.

Heavenly Jargon

A parent contacted the school choice office in Seminole County, Fla., to confirm that her son was on the waiting list for the International Baccalaureate program at one of the district's magnet high schools. The mother said her son had been praying regularly that he would be accepted into the highly selective program.

But according to Superintendent Paul J. Hagerty, the woman wondered if her son's entreaties would be answered. Hagerty related a phone conversation he had had with the mother. "Her son had asked her if God would understand 'IB' or would he have to say the entire 'International Baccalaureate Program at Seminole High School' in his prayer request?"

Some Gratitude!

After New Yorkers Claire and Tom Brown made a significant contribution to the Phi Delta Kappa Foundation in Sioux City, Iowa, where they had worked previously, the chapter acknowledged their generosity in its membership newsletter.

Just one problem: the thank you notice ran under this headline: "A Note From Old Fiends."

A Soundalike Quiz

Ruth Peters, principal at Majestic Elementary School in West Jordan, Utah, put out a call over the public address system one morning for "a mandatory meeting" for all teaching assistants.

Two 3rd-grade girls then asked their teacher why the principal seemed to be calling them to the office. Their names: Amanda and Torey.

Triple Duty

Saying "my dad always worked two jobs," Charles Stalker has done him one better.

For much of this school year, Stalker has served as interim superintendent of three school districts located in north-central Iowa. He's holding the reins in the CAL and Dows districts, which serve 480 students, in Franklin and Wright counties situated about 12 miles apart. He recently released the reins of the 270-student Sentral school district in Kossuth County some 90 miles away.

In three months last fall, Stalker put 13,000 miles on his new car. He depends heavily on his cell phone to stay in touch with his wife, whom he rejoins on weekends at the family home in West Des Moines. By comparison, Veronica Stalker might feel as if she has too much time on her hands. She's the superintendent of just one district, Waukee Community Schools, although by Charles' account it is the fastest growing district in the state.

The Name Game

Most politically incorrect name for a public school: Whiskey Bottom Elementary School.

This may explain why the Howard County, Md., school board, under lobbying pressure from students, changed the name to Laurel Woods.

Oh Deer

Students in biology watched in amazement as a wayward deer that had wandered between two classroom buildings in Salisbury, Mo., crashed through a glass breezeway into a school hallway.

The deer, reports Superintendent Roger Dorson, apparently didn't like school much. The animal regained its feet, raced down the hallway, hit the panic button on an exit door and departed into the wild without serious injury.

Short humorous anecdotes, quips, quotations and malapropisms for this column relating to school district administration and school board governance should be addressed to: Editor, The School Administrator, 1801 N. Moore St., Arlington, VA 22209-1813. Fax: 703-528-2146.

E-mail: magazine@aasa.org. Upon request, names may be withheld in print.