Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

I graduated from Bath High School in Bath, NC. I have college degrees from UNC Chapel Hill, East Carolina University, and UNC Wilmington.

I began my career as an educator in 1958 as a high school English teacher. I taught English in Chapel Hill, NC; Bath, NC; Cleveland, Mississippi; Atlanta, Georgia; and Hightstown, New Jersey. I worked as an elementary school librarian in Brunswick, Maine. In Greenville, NC, I taught elementary students just before coming to Wilmington, NC in 1977.

In New Hanover County I taught fifth and sixth grades for 10 years. In 1987 I began working at Central Office as a teacher observer/evaluator. The Central Office job included professional development duties, and I eventually worked full time as a professional development specialist.

In 1997, I became principal of Winter Park Elementary School in Wilmington where I had the opportunity to apply my years of study and reflection about learning. I enjoyed working with dedicated teachers, staff, and parents who were ready to listen, learn, and make changes. Our students were from diverse backgrounds. One of our practices based on our values was that no student would ever be left out of any activity or event because of a lack of money. I was surprised and delighted at the overwhelming support we received from parents, staff, and students.

Our results were encouraging. We focused on making learning meaningful and joyful. However, our scores were high; and one year we were honored as one of the twenty five most improved schools in the state.

Making school work well for all our diverse students is a very complicated job. We absolutely must expect and support the very highest academic achievement from a high percentage of our students. Yet we need to find ways to encourage and retain those students who are failures and drop outs so that they may reach academic success. There is no single strategy that will work well for every student.

I am dedicated to using all possible skill, energy, dedication, and creativity to make school work for all students. I believe that leadership at the top is critical to creating successful schools, but I believe that school administrators and teachers must be respected and empowered to use their skills, beliefs, and creativity to solve multiple problems every day.

Schools must place high value on academic learning, but school is also the ideal place to teach social and emotional skills and values, problem solving, and creativity. Schools must teach and reinforce the values of caring for ourselves, each other, and our communities and environments. That means working together creatively -- not working in isolation. Schools should be communities where every person is a learner, a thinker, and a respected person in the group.