Helping Students Learn and Grow Still 'Exciting' to Brewster Principal

Sharyn O'Leary has been principal of St. Lawrence O'Toole School in Brewster since 1993, after 10 years as principal of St. Mary's School in Katonah and 13 years teaching at St. John the Evangelist School in Mahopac. She heads a school of 211 students from pre-kindergarten to grade eight and 10 full-time and four part-time teachers. She talked about her school and her students with

Mary Ann Poust, news editor of Catholic New York, as Catholic Schools Week was about to get under way.

What's the best part of being a principal?

As principal, you get to direct the educational program in the school, so there's interaction with the professional staff as well as with the students and their parents. And in a school like this, with so many levels, from nursery to emerging teenagers, you're involved with so many different learning stages. It's nice to be able to direct the educational program, and the spiritual program too. Even the 2-year-olds in our Mommy and Me program are involved. They talk about the ÒBlessed Mommy.Ó I've been doing this for a lot of years, and it's a wonderful thing to see a child evolve. I still find it exciting. I love school.

What are the biggest challenges of the job?

There are academic challenges. Sometimes you're not able to offer all of the resources that a child can use. That's true for the gifted students too. Then there are finances. They're really strained. Our parents, our parish and our pastor are very supportive of the school. But everything goes up. Just look at the fuel bills this year. Sometimes you just wonder where you're going to get the money to be able to offer all that you'd like to offer. There are creative ways to get around it. We apply for grants and we bundle our purchases to get a better price. But if somebody said, 'Here's a gazillion dollars, do what you want with it,' I could spend it.

Was it a big adjustment going from teacher to principal?

It's an ache, not being in the classroom. Sometimes if a teacher is out and we can't get a sub, I'll step in and do it myself. The kids get a kick out of that. As principal, I meet the buses outside and I walk the halls all the time. But it's not the same as the one-to-one contact in the classroom. I miss that. Being a principal, you get to interact with more children but not with the same intensity as when you're in a classroom with them for six hours a day.

Do you ever teach classes?

This year I'm teaching Spanish, only in grade eight. I took a lot of Spanish in high school and all the way through college.

What subject seems to be the most difficult for the kids?

My initial reaction would be to say math. Sometimes children say, 'I can't do math.' Some of them have difficulty with reading. Then they run into word problems in math, and their reading impacts on their ability to do math. It's a very individualized thing.

There seems to be more of an emphasis on standardized testing these days. What do you think of that?

Standardized testing is important because it gives a picture of a child. But it's a snapshot. It's that day in time. There are so many other pieces beyond the standardized test. How does the child interact with the teacher, what does their written work look like. Sometimes a child will do well in classroom tests but freeze on the standardized test. So that can't be the end of it. The standardized test gives you keys to where the weaknesses and the strengths are. It's a tool in the process.

Even young children are involved with video games, the Internet, cell phones and iPods these days. Does your school have a policy on that?

We have. They're allowed to bring those things to school. Some of them have iPods and disc players. They listen to them on the bus. They might have a 40-minute ride. But they're not allowed to listen in school except during recess. Some of them have cell phones. But they're not allowed to be on in school. I'm a working mom myself, and if my son needs to get in touch with me during the day, how will he be able to do it without a cell phone? We live in a technological society and we have to be aware of it. It's a tool that's become important.

What's your policy on homework?

We don't give it on weekends. Homework starts as early as kindergarten, and it might start with just five minutes. Do we believe in homework? Yes. But I don't believe it should be a burden. It should be a reinforcement or extension of what they've learned. They do need to learn practical skills, like how to write a book report or do things in science lab. We need to prepare them for high school and even college. Then there's the question of time management. That's not easy. Even adults struggle with that, myself included. So, I think homework is important and the weekends should be theirs. They're kids, after all.