90s24 Success!

What do stories do when
They are not being told?
Magic folds to magic
And they never grow old.

I struggled to adjust to the rigors of being a principal in Iowa City. Expectations were high, it’s a complicated community, a strong teachers association, involved parents and difficult decisions made the going a minefield of problems and potential problems. As I get closer to writing about the present it becomes more difficult because so many of the stories are so recent and many of the people are still around so being honest might be a little risky.

I have already avoided some stories that should be told but have been afraid of possible negative feedback if the wrong people read them. The truth is that it’s unlikely to happen because my audience is so small. Still, I will postpone writing about more sensitive things until more time has passed. That will give me plenty to write about in retirement.

In 1969 Longfellow Elementary was named an Apple Distinguished School. It was one of two in Iowa and a hundred in the country. It was a significant accomplishment for any school and we were very proud. We received it because we had a comprehensive plan for the utilization of technology and teacher mentors to help their colleagues learn to use it. It didn’t hurt that the district had purchased a large number of computers from Apple that year.

The national recognition was good for the staff and the school. It meant we got some additional equipment and software. We got a big discount on a small computer called an eMate. We purchased about 35 of them. It was technology way ahead of its time. Small computers like this are very popular right now. The eMates life was much greater than anything else on the market and many of the machines were still running and being used 10 years later.

Two teachers and our librarian traveled with Becky and I to Orlando near the end of February of 1997 to accept the award. It was presented to us at a dinner at the Florida Technology Conference. We had our pictures taken with company officials including one of the founders of Apple, Steve Wozniak. We had a great time and enjoyed the recognition.

When we returned to Longfellow we had a reception at the school for staff in recognition of the accomplishment. The local press, legislators, school, central office staff, U of I representatives and people from the AEA attended the reception. It was an exciting event for the school and the district.

Ultimately, and rightly so, the students of Longfellow were the beneficiaries of the recognition and technology. They were given opportunities many kids didn’t get.

We set up a rotation for the computers and all students got to try them out. It was interesting that the assertive parents of the school were adamant that all of the kids in the building got to use the eMates. We weren’t opposed to the idea but as usual the parents didn’t trust us and needed assurance that it would happen. That was an example of the