THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 15, 1996 TAG: 9608130137
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 37 lines
After a 22-year career in the city schools, the last two as principal of Blair Middle, N. George Boothby Jr. is leaving to head up a private center in Portsmouth that treats youth with special education needs.
Boothby, 45, will take over as administrator of The Pines Residential Treatment Center beginning Tuesday. The center operates two Portsmouth facilities that primarily serve youth 11 to 22 who are seriously emotionally disturbed or in need of remediation for specific learning disabilities.
The center is licensed for 318 beds, has an annual operating budget of about $21 million and employs about 600 people.
School spokesman George Raiss said Blair Middle assistant principal Sarah W. Bell has been named acting principal.
Boothby said he wasn't unhappy with the school system but that the job offer at the Pines was too attractive to pass up.
``My growth as an educator and as a leader will grow measurably,'' Boothby said this week. ``It was just an opportunity at a point in time where I really needed a major challenge.''
Boothby said the city school system is on the ``strongest path it's been on for quite a while.''
Boothby, who comes from a family of educators, started his career in 1974 as a second- and third-grade teacher at Larchmont Elementary. He became a principal in 1986, serving five years at Sherwood Forest Elementary, three years at Taylor Elementary and two years at Blair Middle.
The Pines center, a subsidiary of Alternative Behavioral Services, currently serves youth from 22 states, including Virginia and Hampton Roads, said Ed Irby, chief operating officer of ABS.
Irby said Boothby had an ``exceptional record of community involvement'' and that his ``energetic and enthusiastic spirit will add to the continuing improvements'' in care at the center.
KEYWORDS: EDUCATION NORFOLK SCHOOLS by CNB