School Starts: A New Sheriff in Town

School started this last week. It all developed without too much time elapsing. Normally, school will be said to start for example the 15^th, but truly will not start until the last of the month. This year, it was said to start last Wednesday, but actually started this Monday (not too shabby).

We have complained frequently about the poor quality of education at our little rural school and the lack of order. Kids have been able to come and go as they please all throughout the day and spectators allowed to sit along the tops of the walls surrounding the school property. Teachers sit and chat outside well after class has started. We were not looking forward to another school year that devalued education. We had a wonderful surprise in the afternoon…

A new vice principle is in charge of the high school students. She knows she has a huge challenge ahead of her, breaking old habits, but she is starting aggressive. The side doors remain locked during school; no one goes in or out without her approval (which is very strict), if you need something, come better prepared next time; no loitering, for teachers and students. Upon seeing some spectators sitting up on the walls, she immediately yelled at them to get down, saying we didn’t need any more gallinazos [local buzzards that feed on rotting carcasses] hanging around. She has been cracking down on the rules –to our glee and student’s dismay.

Hearing such legend, I, Kelly, went to meet her personally. She personally attended to me at the door, clearly ready to direct me away if I didn’t have a good reason to be there. She was happy to discuss the new plans for the school year. There are mostly female teachers now (which is good down here in this macho society). Her view is that school is an educational institution, not a daycare. In this first week of school, only a handful of students showed up, but whether with five students or 30, the teachers reviewed old material and used all class time to teach. I wanted to hug her, but held my composure. We now feel much better about the upcoming year, with actual plans to educate. WE LOVE HER!!!!