THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505040415
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MACHIPONGO LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Dawn Goldstine laughs like a child when something amuses her. And, like a student who's just brought home an A, she's openly proud of her newest award.
Goldstine heads the 2,500-student Northampton County school system. She has been named 1996 Superintendent of the Year for Hampton Roads by her peers: members of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.
``In a location where 300 homes are without indoor plumbing, electricity or water and 70 percent of the students are classified `at risk,' she has created a supportive environment where 80 percent of the Northampton County students go on to further education,'' says the statement announcing her award. ``She is a one-person community relations department who has made a major impact on her community's development.''
Anyone walking into the county's new schools would have to admit that, especially if they remember the tumble-down condition of some of the old buildings. Five years ago, not all of Northampton's principals had telephones, much less computers.
In the six years since she came to the Eastern Shore, Goldstine has led a massive reconstruction of the school system. All five of the county's old elementary schools were closed, and replaced by two new ones. The middle school was doubled in size, the high school upgraded, an alternative school was created for troubled students, and the system's administrative offices were moved.
The schools' teaching methods have changed as much as the buildings.
``Our achievements were very admired because of the way we accomplished it in a place that no one thought we could,'' said Goldstine.
She's quick to point out that the revamping of Northampton's school system was a group effort. It couldn't have been done without a plan, and without a low-interest construction loan.
Goldstine gives former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and education leaders in his administration - former State Superintendent Joseph A. Spagnolo Jr. and former Secretary of Education James W. Dyke Jr.- and others, credit for making Northampton's transformation possible.
Her role in the process was to identify those resources and use them.
``In education, your best shot is at being a facilitator,'' said Goldstine. ``The days are long gone when you could sit by yourself someplace and make everyone do what you want.''
Goldstine, who holds two master's degrees and a doctorate in education administration, spent most of her career in the New York State school system. It's not unusual for her to speak at national educational conferences, or to sit on panels with senators.
Before coming to Northampton, she was assistant superintendent for instruction in the Wantagh, N.Y., school system. She has been married 37 years and has two grown children.
Why does she cling to Northampton? Being a superintendent of a rural school system is a very visible position. On one hand, said Goldstine, that visibility reinforces your commitment. On the other hand, it makes you vulnerable to anyone's opinion.
``I'm part of things here,'' she said of her choices. ``In a rural community, just about anything you do touches the whole. You really have a sense as an educator that you're making a difference.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Dawn Goldstine
Chart
Northampton Schools under Goldstine
by CNB