saxon math : Sparta elementary principal says goodbye
Elementary Principal Stephanie Crownover recently retired amid good wishes and a steady stream of parents, students and teachers coming in to say goodbye.
A special surprise assembly had to be held a day earlier to honor the outgoing principal because Crownover had planned a field trip to the Dogwood Canyon Nature Park near Lampe with first- and second-graders on her final day.
This is a very special time for all of us — our last trip together," Crownover said.
Middle School secretary Janel Reed, who served as the summer school secretary, said Crownover made the teachers and staff feel as welcome as she did the students.
"While working in summer school, I found that the moment you walk in you're part of her team," Reed said. "She's a professional but with a sense of humor ... strong in a business where you don't always find (strength)."
After a reading session with second-graders on Thursday, a small girl said, "You're retiring, and we won't see you anymore."
Another child looked up into Crownover's face and said, "I'm going to miss you."
"We won't say goodbye," Crownover assured them. "From now on, we'll just say hello in different places."
In her eight years at Sparta, Crownover said, she's seen rapid change in education.
"I see more technology used ... now and an overall change in expectations from the state," she said. "It's good in a lot of ways, but it's very hard to cover all the expectations — from the Missouri State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as well as the federal government in programs like No Child Left Behind."
Also, her school building has been enlarged and enrollment has increased to nearly 400 in preschool through fifth grade.
Throughout her tenure at Sparta, summer school has been a very important program, she said. About two-thirds of the total students in the district attend each year.
During her first year, Crownover established one of the first character education programs in the area.
She's proud of the "character bench" that sits in the front entrance of the school. It was decorated by fifth graders as part of their character study during her first year at the school.
"I got it from an old church, and it was too long for the pickup we hauled it in," she said. "It was ugly so the kids painted it white and glued pictures of people being nice to each other all over the seat and painted good character trait words on the back. The decoupage is as nice today as when the kids — now in high school — decorated it."
Reed said, "Crownover compels a person to reach her level of caring, because she's set the standards for so long. I'll try to live up to her standards of caring for these students."
Crownover and her teachers also formed a team to focus on the textbook programs for language arts and mathematics to establish continuity.
"We put this under two programs where everyone in the fifth grade and under work out of the same text book program — McMillan McGraw-Hill for language arts and Saxon for math," Crownover explained.
Crownover said that while in administration she has missed the interaction with students that teaching provides. Plans are already in place to establish a small one-on-one tutoring activity called Principal's Pride. She will especially enjoy tutoring special education students, she said.
She has also accepted a position to teach art to children at the Springfield Art Museum next fall as well as remedial math and reading at Rivendale Institute of Learning, also in Springfield.
Crownover said she would especially miss the groups of children that she's watch grow up at Sparta and the people in the community.
"I'll also miss the staff at school," she added. "Nine out of 10 who come to work here stay to complete their careers."
Linda Johnson, from Hollister, will be the new Sparta principal.
By Donna Baxter
A special surprise assembly had to be held a day earlier to honor the outgoing principal because Crownover had planned a field trip to the Dogwood Canyon Nature Park near Lampe with first- and second-graders on her final day.
This is a very special time for all of us — our last trip together," Crownover said.
Middle School secretary Janel Reed, who served as the summer school secretary, said Crownover made the teachers and staff feel as welcome as she did the students.
"While working in summer school, I found that the moment you walk in you're part of her team," Reed said. "She's a professional but with a sense of humor ... strong in a business where you don't always find (strength)."
After a reading session with second-graders on Thursday, a small girl said, "You're retiring, and we won't see you anymore."
Another child looked up into Crownover's face and said, "I'm going to miss you."
"We won't say goodbye," Crownover assured them. "From now on, we'll just say hello in different places."
In her eight years at Sparta, Crownover said, she's seen rapid change in education.
"I see more technology used ... now and an overall change in expectations from the state," she said. "It's good in a lot of ways, but it's very hard to cover all the expectations — from the Missouri State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as well as the federal government in programs like No Child Left Behind."
Also, her school building has been enlarged and enrollment has increased to nearly 400 in preschool through fifth grade.
Throughout her tenure at Sparta, summer school has been a very important program, she said. About two-thirds of the total students in the district attend each year.
During her first year, Crownover established one of the first character education programs in the area.
She's proud of the "character bench" that sits in the front entrance of the school. It was decorated by fifth graders as part of their character study during her first year at the school.
"I got it from an old church, and it was too long for the pickup we hauled it in," she said. "It was ugly so the kids painted it white and glued pictures of people being nice to each other all over the seat and painted good character trait words on the back. The decoupage is as nice today as when the kids — now in high school — decorated it."
Reed said, "Crownover compels a person to reach her level of caring, because she's set the standards for so long. I'll try to live up to her standards of caring for these students."
Crownover and her teachers also formed a team to focus on the textbook programs for language arts and mathematics to establish continuity.
"We put this under two programs where everyone in the fifth grade and under work out of the same text book program — McMillan McGraw-Hill for language arts and Saxon for math," Crownover explained.
Crownover said that while in administration she has missed the interaction with students that teaching provides. Plans are already in place to establish a small one-on-one tutoring activity called Principal's Pride. She will especially enjoy tutoring special education students, she said.
She has also accepted a position to teach art to children at the Springfield Art Museum next fall as well as remedial math and reading at Rivendale Institute of Learning, also in Springfield.
Crownover said she would especially miss the groups of children that she's watch grow up at Sparta and the people in the community.
"I'll also miss the staff at school," she added. "Nine out of 10 who come to work here stay to complete their careers."
Linda Johnson, from Hollister, will be the new Sparta principal.
By Donna Baxter
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home