THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602200078
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEXIS M. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Rolston Audain, 17, with cellular phone in hand, raced from the administration offices to the library and then through the halls at First Colonial High School.
He was busy telling teachers and other students what to do.
In fact, students were taking charge all over First Colonial last Friday.
Audain, a senior and head of the student government's Student Faculty Relations committee, coordinated a recent Student Faculty Exchange Day. He said the idea came from his former school in the Virgin Islands. ``Students would take the place of teachers and administrators and teachers would act like students,'' said Audain, who moved here three years ago.
He talked the First Colonial student government association into it, and later the school administration agreed to give the scheme a try. The planning began in December and involved administration staff, secretaries, librarians, bookkeepers, teachers and the principal. A total of 70 students were assigned posts.
One of Audain's biggest fears for the day was that it would snow again and cancel all the carefully made plans. The event had already been postponed once, but this time the weather held.
Students began arriving at 7 a.m.
``Teachers commented on how smoothly the day was running and were especially impressed that the students were all dressed up,'' Audain said and laughed.
Freshman class president Ross Fickenscher, dressed in suit and tie, was the replacement for Carlton Hill, one of three assistant principals. ``I learned how to mediate problems, discipline students, clear up scheduling problems and run a computer,'' he said. The experience was an eye-opener for the teen. ``I really didn't know what he did and now that I know, I never want to become an assistant principal.''
While several students waited to talk to him, Hill was rushing in and out of his office, and at the same time, instructing Fickenscher on the finer points of his duties.
Hill laughed. ``Fickenscher is doing well. Now my job is hanging by a thread.''
Students were allowed to teach classes they were currently taking or had already had. Many of the teachers worked with their student teachers to plan the lessons in advance.
Student teacher Sarah Faucette taught advanced placement United States history while the real teacher, Pete DeWolf, sat on one of the metal desks in the back of the classroom. Several students gave presentations while Faucette created a diagram on the blackboard.
Amy Kobelski, student government president, was acting principal. ``I thought it was a good thing to promote student-teacher relations and students wanted something to break the monotony of attending classes day after day,'' she said.
Real principal Stephen Charton said the experience taught him that students are capable if given the chance. ``I gave her several assignments that she had no idea would be given to her,'' he said of Kobelski's duties.
``She prepared the announcement to the student body telling about the snow make-up days, developed statistics for an algebra program and wrote a letter to the incoming eighth-graders . . . I'm thinking about giving her all my paper work to do this weekend.''
Stephen Shephard, standing hall duty during lunch with assistant principal Carol Anthony, looked perplexed watching students converge from all directions. ``I never realized the halls were a hectic mess,'' Shephard said.
At the end of the day, an awards ceremony was held to present certificates to students for a job well done. Charton said he hopes the exchange day will become a tradition at First Colonial. ILLUSTRATION: ABOVE: Student Shaina Kelley teaches an honors English class at
First Colonial High as the students and teachers switched places for
the day.
LEFT: Amanda Toscano, a senior acting as a Gifted Resource teacher,
laughs as she tries to use a cell phone to call a fellow student.
All teachers at First Colonial carry cell phones.
Staff photos by
STEVE EARLEY
by CNB