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Holton Has New Principal;
Also Receives Accreditation
by Charles G. McGuigan
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 Photo by John MacLellan,
courtesy of
North of the James magazine
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Third District School Board representative Carol A. O. Wolf was borderline
ecstatic
when she announced that Holton Elementary School’s new principal is David
A.
Hudson. And she could barely catch her breath when she then told me that
Holton,
along with every other Third District school except for Chandler Middle,
is now
fully accredited.
Stuart’s Loss, Holton’s Gain
“Holton is very lucky to get David Hudson, because when I first came on
to the
School Board there was only one accredited school in the Third District
and that
was J.E.B. Stuart, and David has spent the last three years at Stuart
under its most
able and excellent principal, Iris Page,” says Wolf. “Stuart’s loss is
Holton’s gain.”
Even during the summer he was laying groundwork for his new position as
principal
of Holton. “He is already busy meeting with parents,” Wolf says. During
one of
those meetings with involved fathers of students at Holton, one parent
said that
a friend of his, whose child had attended Holton last year, will not be
going there
this fall.
The parent who removed his child from Holton had complained that his
services
as an involved parent were never used. Not missing a beat, Hudson
immediately
called the parent during the meeting and set up an appointment with him to
try
and change his mind about Holton. “He takes immediate charge of the
situation,”
says Wolf. “He’s the kind of principal who will take charge of every
situation
and tend to it.”
Cleaning House & Bathroom Grout
Throughout the summer, Hudson has thoroughly toured the grounds and
facilities
at Holton. “He is very picky, fastidious, and has already been shaking
things up by
having a thorough cleaning of the school all the way down to the grout in
the
bathroom,” Wolf explains. “He’s that way about the grounds, too. He loves
Holton,
its beauty and location.”
Hudson also plans to remain principal at Holton until his retirement (more
than ten
years down the road), which will be a real boon for the elementary school.
“Holton got off to a rocky start with three principals (including Hudson)
in five
years,” says Wolf. “He (Hudson) has a long-term commitment to Holton, and
that’s
just the sort of stability we need so much at that school.”
Accreditation Under Dr. Currie
When Holton’s doors open next week, Hudson will be taking over a school
that is
now fully accredited. And that achievement is due in large part to the
former
principal, Dr. Darlene Currie.
“The parents, staff and Dr. Darlene Currie deserve all the credit,” says
Wolf. “One
of the problems Holton had in terms of being accredited was the lack of
stability
among the staff, and Dr. Currie really pulled the staff together and gave
them their
marching orders. The teachers worked really hard and the involved parents
worked really hard to make sure the kids knew the material. Dr. Currie
instilled
that kind of pride in the school and made everybody feel that they really
mattered.”
Dr. Currie now works in the exceptional education office at the public
school’s
central office Downtown. “I lobbied hard for Dr. Currie to be tapped for
the
position,” Wolf says. “I have always been impressed with her knowledge of
kids
with special needs and I know she can make our exceptional education
program
even better. We were fortunate to have Dr. Currie as principal at Holton,
and she
made a difference: Hudson inherits a fully accredited school.”
Most 3rd District Schools Accredited
Holton is not alone in that distinction among other Third District
schools.
Ginter Park Elementary, J.E.B. Stuart Elementary, A. V. Norrell
Elementary,
T.H. Henderson Middle and John Marshall High also are now fully
accredited.
The only school in the district to yet achieve that status is Chandler
Middle School.
“We’ll be working on Chandler’s accreditation this year,” says Wolf.
To get an idea of just how much students at Holton have achieved in the
past
several years, Wolf gave me the SOL results from the 1999-2000 and the
2003-2004
school years. The increases are overwhelming.
Holton’s SOL scores for the 1999-2000 year were: English, 45; Math 39;
History, 24;
Science, 53. By comparison, the scores, this year, were: English, 95;
Math, 101;
History, 98; Science, 98.
“The parents, teachers and Dr. Darlene Currie raised these scores the
old-fashioned way: By hard work,” says Carol Wolf. “We are extremely proud
of their efforts.”
She considers Holton Elementary and its new principal, who comes on board
just
after the elementary school’s SOL success. “Now that Holton is accredited,
David
Hudson is determined to take the school beyond accreditation to
excellence.
You just can’t hide that Holton pride.”
No, you can’t.
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