As a rule, not many of us have the chance to experience daily reminders of happy childhood memories. I am an exception to that rule. On my Monday-through-Friday, one-mile roundtrip commute to the office, I drive past Signal Hill Elementary School (SHES) twice each day. As a child, I attended classes there from kindergarten through sixth grade. Located at the corner of Hill Street and Walnut Avenue, the school’s main buildings still look the same, and I have often wanted to stop by the campus for a tour of my alma mater.
Last month I had the chance to do more than just take a tour. At the gracious invitation of Long Beach Unified School District, I was honored with the opportunity of serving as Principal for a Day.
Arriving at the school promptly at 9am, the real principal, Ms. Lauren Price, gave me a warm greeting and filled me in on what my half-day responsibilities would be. Our first order of business was to visit several of the classrooms and observe the students as they learned. I was especially touched by the friendliness of the kindergartners and the first-graders. When Ms. Price introduced me as the principal for the day, the students initially looked startled and a bit apprehensive, but as I shared the news with them that I too had been a student at SHES and then passed around a picture of me with my kindergarten class (circa 1961), they all seemed to relax a bit.
Next on our list was a trip to the cafeteria. Ah, the cafeteria was one of my favorite places at school. In my memories the food was wonderful. Homemade pizza, spaghetti, turkey and gravy on mashed potatoes, and yes, of course, the yucky peas that we stuffed inside our milk cartons hoping that Coachie Mrs. Wanish wouldn’t catch us. Standing inside that cafeteria brought back a flood of happy thoughts and actually brought me to tears.
After a quick walk back to the kindergarten building I had the opportunity to read one of my favorite books to both kindergarten classes. I brought the book from home called What Can I Buy? It was a book given to me by my half-brother when I was about 5 or 6 years old. The kids seemed to enjoy the story.
The last item on our agenda for the day was a question-and-answer period with eight students representing the fourth and fifth grades. They were such lovely kids. Very attentive and well mannered, they asked questions like, “How does the paper make money?” “Where do you get your stories?” “What high school did you go to?” and “What would you do if you didn’t own the paper?” I did the best that I could to satisfy them with my answers!
At the end of the half-day, I was ready to go back to work. Principal for a Day was a great experience, but let me tell you, I think the kids at SHES keep Ms. Price on her toes. At my age and with my mindset, I would need rollerskates, two assistants, a coffee bar and a cot in my office to be able to do half of what she does. My hat goes off to Ms. Price. She’s one in a million!
