LOOKING IN ON: EDUCATION New school holds out, snags veteran administrator

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007 | 10 p.m.

The Clark County School District has gotten grief for not scooping up experienced campus administrators when the opportunity presents itself.

But Principal Joy Lea of the new Faiss Middle School didn't miss the chance to snag a veteran educator from New Jersey as her dean of students.

Terrance Fitzpatrick, who has more than 30 years' experience as a classroom teacher, dean and principal, is expected to start work Sept. 7, pending approval by the Clark County School Board at its meeting Thursday night.

Fitzpatrick most recently was principal of the Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Rockaway, N.J.

Lea, who was chosen in January to open the new campus this week, said it made no difference to her that Fitzpatrick came from outside Clark County.

“There are people in the district who are good, and people outside the district who are good,” Lea said. “You line them all up and figure out who is the best.”

The applicant's educational philosophy, track record and personality are major factors, Lea said. Because Faiss is planning a number of unique programs, including extended instructional periods for math and literacy, as well as an emphasis on entrepreneurship and economics, her requirements for a dean were highly specific.

“We took a long time to find the right dean,” Lea said. “We're really fortunate to get Mr. Fitzpatrick to come to our district. He'll bring a lot of richness and experience.”

• • •

One misbehaving student can affect an entire classroom. And elementary school teachers have few options for dealing with repeat offenders, beyond sending them to the office for reprimands.

This fall, Berkeley Bunker Elementary School in the northwest region wants to test another way of addressing chronically disruptive pupils.

The pilot program, which may become a model for the rest of the district, involves working with as many as 10 students at a time for six weeks, using behavior modification, counseling and small-group instruction.

The program will require participation and support from the students' parents, Bunker Principal Pauline Mills said. A full-time counselor would not only work with students individually and in small groups, but also be authorized to make home visits.

Another component: close collaboration between the program's intervention team and the student's regular classroom teacher. Students will continue to be monitored even after they complete the six-week program, Mills said.

“Our goal is to give kids the tools they need to make positive choices about their own behavior,” Mills said.

Lawmakers set aside $915,000 over the biennium for schools to pilot alternative education programs for disruptive pupils. Bunker's plan would cost $120,000 and help as many as 60 students and their parents during the academic year.

The district has submitted several other applications for grants to address disruptive pupils, including one for the Southwest Behavior Junior/Senior High School. The program, which would cost $21,192 over two years, would provide an extra hour each day for counselors. Students would be required to write a behavior plan with input from school staff and their parents. Classroom teachers, counselors and the principal would monitor the student's adherence to the plan. Students also would also be required to write an essay or poem about what they learned from the experience, and the collected works would be printed in a journal titled “Suspended in Time.”

• • •

Have a dusty bookshelf crammed with elementary school yearbooks? Or you can remember when Harvey Dondero was superintendent?

The Clark County School District is seeking memories -- both in tangible form such as yearbooks and photos -- and as oral histories. Call 799-5302 to find out how to share your recollections, football trophies and homecoming queen sashes.

Early contributions are already on display in the lobby of the district's administrative offices at 5100 W. Sahara Ave.

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at emily@lasvegassun.com.