A Chat With a Former School Superintendent

Yesterday, a gentleman came into the flower shop to send a gift to a dear friend who was celebrating his 80th birthday. When he gave me his credit card, I recognized his name as that of the superintendent of schools during my high school years. The 60s were a turbulent time to be in charge of the schools--race and sex education causing the biggest stir. He told me that when he started his job, 3% of the staff was African American. He recruited teachers at Black Colleges, and by the time he retired, 10% of the teachers were Black. I'm proud that my children and I attended a school system comprised of many diverse cultures. This Superintendent and his board piloted a sex education program for 5th graders in a few of the elementary schools in the city. 1200 people crowded into a meeting held in a gym--a meeting that lasted from 7pm til 1am. The district was opening its second high school, but the building was not completed. We shared the existing high school in two shifts from 7am til noon, and 1pm til 6pm. I attended the second shift and enjoyed sleeping in and doing homework before class, then riding with my boyfriend to school in his Opal.