Sunday, August 24, 2003

By John Vivirito Jr.

Laura Davis is "totally excited" about the upcoming school year at Pine-Richland High School.

"I'm psyched," a broad-smiling Davis said after Monday night's special school board meeting, at which the directors hired her as high school principal. "I'm thrilled. I'm honored. I'm delighted. I'm speechless."

Before approving Davis to run the 1,215-student school, the board accepted the resignation of Rebecca Cunningham, who had held the position since 2000.

Cunningham resigned to raise her family.

Robert Johnson, now assistant superintendent, was high school principal for 12 years before Cunningham.

"I'm very pleased that the board acted swiftly with this hiring," Superintendent James Manley said. "It's important that people know and the students know who the principal is as we start school.

"We were just alerted less than two weeks ago from Rebecca that she was going to be leaving. We knew Rebecca was missing her children, but it was still a surprise to see her go."

Davis, who will be paid a salary of $80,000, has a head start on her new job after a stint as interim high school principal, stepping in during the second semester of 2002-03 when Cunningham was on maternity leave.

"During last semester, I learned how wonderful it was working with [assistant high school principals] Dave DeGregorio and Paula Schmitt," Davis said.

"They've been at the high school and know the building, and we work well together as a team. I look forward to collaborating with them."

Davis said her goals are bringing an academic focus to the high school and using test scores and other data on student learning to improve curriculum and instruction.

She also wants to help the faculty develop professionally.

"I'm looking at teacher portfolios," she said. "I need to get a sense of the evidence of the teachers' best practices, so I want to focus on their professionalism as well."

Davis, of Bloomfield, is beginning her 17th year in the district. After receiving her teaching certification from the University of Pittsburgh in 1986, she was hired to teach secondary and gifted students at then-Richland High School and Pine Middle School.

She also taught social studies in grades seven through 12 in the district, and most recently was assistant middle school principal for five years.

Davis earned a bachelor's degree from Vassar College in 1979, did graduate work in psychology at the University of Chicago from 1979 to 1982, and holds a master's degree and a doctorate in education from Duquesne University, the latter attained in July.

"Laura has very excellent academic credentials," Manley said. "And she's been working in the district for a long time, giving us extra confidence in her abilities to perform as high school principal."

Like all Pine-Richland administrators, Davis will need to grapple with the challenges brought by growth.

Manley said there are 3,886 pupils in the district. The preferred capacity for the district's high school, middle school and three elementary schools is 3,962.

If growth patterns continue, that slender cushion will soon disappear.

"Out of 42 high schools in Western Pennsylvania, Pine-Richland High School is ranked about 14th enrollment-wise, and by the 2007-08 school year, we could climb to about eighth or ninth," Manley said.

"We're the fastest-growing high school in Western Pennsylvania, and we're looking for Laura to help guide our students into the future."

John Vivirito Jr. is a freelance writer.

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