ATLANTA - The children at William M. Finch Elementary were welcomed to school Oct. 27 by their new principal: Col. Deborah B. Grays.
As part of a relationship building program, Grays, U.S. Army Garrison McPherson commander, took on the role normally filled by the school's principal, Dr. Linda Paden.
"It opens our door to the community," Paden said. "They (the students) can see all the good things we are doing and how they can get involved."
The "Principal for A Day" program was designed by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce to bring leaders from the community into schools to build involvement between schools and prominent people in the community, said Lisa Brinson, communities in Schools Program coordinator for William M. Fitch Elementary.
Community leaders range from business owners and church leaders to members of military and corporate society, and are placed into schools by the chamber of commerce, she added.
The once-a-year program allows kids to get exposed to successful people in the community they may not normally get to see, Brinson said.
"It's good exposure for the kids," she said. "Kids will remember."
Memories were built through the interactions Grays had with the children. During her visit, Grays toured classrooms, sat in on lessons, helped participate in select classroom exercises, read to children in kindergarten and concluded the day by being interviewed by students for the school newspaper, The Fitch Eagle Tribune.
"I love it. It's been a very exciting day," Grays said. Although she mentioned school started much earlier than she thought, she said the children gave her a jolt of power.
"You get so much energy from the kids," she said.
Just as the children motivated Grays, the goal of the program is to help motivate the community to take active roles with the kids. It is something that Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem has done for the school for a long time, said Zelmer Dawes, a specialist in the USAG Community Outreach Office.
"We have about 15 volunteers from base who come here to tutor and mentor students," she said. She said volunteers have also participated in school programs such as career fairs, science fairs, a chess instruction program, an afterschool knitting program and a read-a-thon.
Military involvement goes back to 1992, when the base entered into a partnership with Arkwright Elementary. This school merged with Ragsdale Elementary in 2005 to form Fitch Elementary, Dawes said. The partnership continued throughout the school's evolution.
It is a partnership Grays said she believes in.
"It takes a whole village to invest in children," she said. "If I can expose you to something to help out your education, it was worth my time."
Thus far, that investment has been paying off, Dawes said.
"Because of our participation, they (the students) have met all of the Atlanta Public Schools' goals," Dawes said. Such goals are designed to help improve children's education to better prepare them to enter the workforce or college environment.
Grays said she looks forward to visiting and continuing the relationship between the installation and Finch, adding she felt extremely welcomed by Paden, her staff and the children.
Paden said she was also enthused about the day's events and future participation.
"It serves to show them (the children) role models for what can be done," she said. "I hope the kids can get ideas of what they can achieve."
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