90s29 Formal Dinner

Tuesday, February 16, 1999 – Last Thursday we had a very successful formal lunch for the students at Longfellow. We got a lot of favorable press for the school and the district and we can all use that right now…

We started several traditions when I was at Longfellow. Several continue but I am not sure about this one. Every year around Valentines Day we had a formal lunch for all of the students. Everyone was expected to come in his or her Sunday best. Even the staff dressed for the event. Our intent in doing it was to reward the kids and give them some instruction in appropriate behavior in a more formal setting. I always wore a tuxedo that day.

We decorated the lunchroom and used table clothes. We also put flowers on the tables and unlit candles. Soft music played in the background. As the students ate I passed out chocolate kisses to each one.

This became a very popular event with the students and families. Many parents came and took pictures of their children. Over time, more and more parents came and it begin to be congested. Eventually, we had to ask parents not to attend.

The newspaper covered the event several times and Channel 2 did a segment on it once. The latter was interesting because the reporter was a jerk and expected a free lunch out of it. The story turned out pretty well but the reporter thought he was pretty special. Seems to be a common thing with Iowa TV station personalities.

I am not thrilled that schools have been forced to take on many parenting duties but I always liked this event because we all could see the kids in a different light. I was amazed at how much quieter they were during lunch. I think it impacted their behavior all day long. There were very few behavior incidents on those days.

Friday, February 19, 1999 – There was a bomb threat for all Johnson County schools this morning. It was called in to the police department. Mr. Murray and I searched Longfellow while school was in session and found nothing unusual. It took us about an hour and a half to do the search. We also searched the outside around the building and the trash containers. Every building in Iowa City handled it this way. About a week ago there was a similar threat in another county and they missed a least a day of school. Even though I knew it was very unlikely that there was a bomb in any school and even more unlikely that there was one at Longfellow it was still nerve-racking searching and thinking about it. We had about a dozen parents take their kids out of school when they heard about it on the news and we have had dozens of calls about it. All in all a wild day!

We are still working with a parent regarding the interpreter for a child. Yesterday the parent was very angry with me but had calmed down a great deal today when I talked to her. We are meeting with the parent again next Wednesday. It is likely that this will go to mediation or we will have a hearing.