Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 29, 1995 TAG: 9507310131
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Landmark News Service
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
First thing in the morning, he's likely to be in the foyer, greeting students as they arrive and teaching them yo-yo tricks.
Later in the day, look for Harvey in a classroom, where he's making sure one of his charges gets recognized for a special accomplishment.
After school, head to the athletic fields, where he's likely to be cheering on a Seahawk team.
Harvey, recently named Virginia's Secondary School Principal of the Year, likes to be where the action is. So he avoids where it is not - buried in the paperwork on his desk.
``He's nice,'' said Adriane Edwards, a 13-year-old eighth-grader. ``He communicates with everybody, rather than being the person up at the office.''
Harvey came to Virginia Beach Middle School four years ago, after a year and a half working for the central office on plans to convert all of the city's junior high schools to middle schools. He got antsy, however, being so far away from the classroom.
``I have fun here with the kids,'' Harvey said. ``I love it here. I want to be here.
``The most rewarding thing is when the kids come back and say, `We remember Virginia Beach Middle School as one of the most significant times in our lives.'''
Harvey makes it significant by creating a warm, supportive atmosphere where everyone feels valued, say students, parents and teachers.
During the school year, the halls are festooned with brightly colored flags representing the different core class teams to which students belong. Teachers greet arriving students, handing out candy canes during the Christmas season. At the end-of-the-year awards ceremony, hundreds of children are honored.
``You have a nurturing environment,'' parent Rosemary Wilson said. ``And it all starts at the top.''
Harvey's influence extends from the academic - making sure special education students are included on the honor roll - to the mundane. When the need to share lockers began creating problems, he had shop classes make shelves to divide up the space.
The nomination for the state principal honor requires only four letters of recommendation, but the information collected for Harvey is stacked in a 4-inch binder. Kudos arrived laser-printed on corporate letterhead and scrawled brightly in magic marker.
``Go, Mr. Harvey. You go, go. You're the best. Everyone knows,'' one student wrote.
Harvey says that his successes at Virginia Beach Middle - affectionately known as Camp Seahawk - are the result of the parents, staff and students who surround him.
``It's a combination of a lot of people working hard,'' he said. ``It's not me sitting here behind the desk and saying, `Let's hand out candy canes.' It's them coming to me and saying, `What do you think about ... ?'
``It's easy when they come to me with creative ideas, and I just support them.''
by CNB