Principal Honored for Bringing School Back From the Brink

The children who clustered around the booths at the Whitman Elementary School Halloween carnival Monday weren’t quite sure why a “witch” was presenting a piece of paper to their principal, John Sullivan.

For the 300 or so kids at Whitman’s fourth annual carnival, the attraction was the usual mix of fright and exhilaration, from the haunted house to the lollipop tree.

Untold Number of Hours

But for parents and other supporters in the north Clairemont neighborhood, the carnival this year--one of the biggest at any school in San Diego--symbolized how far Whitman has come in four years, when school district officials scheduled it for closing because of chronic low enrollment.

They chose to honor Sullivan this year for the untold number of hours he has devoted to rejuvenating the school with new academic programs--from math to choir--and bringing back children whose parents had chosen other schools for them. Enrollment has grown from 276 to 362 during the past three-plus years, and Whitman is no longer on the endangered list.

“Sullivan’s the best principal that this school has ever had,” said parent Barry Mester, who was busy setting up the concession stand earlier Monday. Both Mester and his wife attended Whitman during its enrollment heyday more than 20 years ago, when the newly built area was home to thousands of young families with kids and the school population topped 1,400.

“He cares, he really cares about kids,” said Mester, whose three children attend Whitman.

Another parent, Kevie White, sang Sullivan’s praises while chopping up onions for the hot dog booth.

“Sullivan puts as much into this school as we all do,” White said, emphasizing Sullivan’s efforts at lining up business partnerships for the school. “Clairemont Square shopping center displays the artwork done by the kids, and it helps pay for some of the rides at the carnival.

“And Scripps Memorial Hospital donated all the medical supplies for the classrooms to be equipped for earthquakes. And the kids from the choir go to sing for patients.”

Sought Parent Opinion

Bob Turnier contrasted the school environment today with that of four years ago, before Sullivan and concerned parents went door-to-door and asked what parents would like to see for their school.

“Today we’ve got a tremendous number of volunteers in each classroom, which really helps the teachers in getting more individual attention to kids,” Turnier said. “We’ve got a lot more community events here, such as the San Diego Opera. We’ve got an in-staff choir director paid by parent donations. We’ve got computers in every room.”

“And Mr. Sullivan’s role? Every time someone comes up with an idea, he says, ‘Let’s go with it.’ He and his friends personally installed the swing set on the playground. He got after-school day care set up (through Social Advocates for Youth), which is important to a lot of parents who work. And he got gifted classes going at the school for the first time.”

Teacher Richard Emma said that, at almost any school, the staff splits into factions that either barely tolerate each other or don’t talk to each other at all.

“I can honestly say here that we get along, that the faculty shares ideas--like a teacher the other day who went to a conference on literature and, while there, noticed some books for free and brought them back for me because she knew that I am trying to set up a library for the kids,” Emma said.

“Every room here has a VCR and a large-screen television because John encouraged teachers to write a grant that was successful. He knows how to sell the school and has gotten the San Diego Opera’s school program to undertake a student production of Hansel and Gretel, which we’ll present next month.

“I’ve got kids who were in private schools up until now, but we are getting them back because John Sullivan has persuaded the parents to have confidence in the public schools,” Emma said.

So Sullivan’s ears were burning as a representative from council member Bruce Henderson’s office, dressed up as a witch, presented the principal with a special declaration of his accomplishments from the San Diego City Council as the carnival got under way Monday afternoon.

The ceremony had to be held early because Sullivan is undergoing daily radiation treatment for a tumor.

“But he hates to miss a day of school, and he’d much rather be at school and then go for the treatments rather than sit at home commiserating,” said his wife, Catherine, who teaches at nearby Curie Elementary School. “I’ll force him to stay home if necessary, but he really wants to be at Whitman.”

Sullivan, a 25-year veteran of many San Diego city schools, praised the many teachers and parents who have worked with him during his four years at Whitman to lift the campus out of what he called a “comatose” environment by supporting pilot math programs, instrumental music, school safety patrols and a stronger integration program.

“I look forward to coming to work every day and will stay here as long as I can,” he said, despite the fact that, with six years to go until retirement, he could earn a larger pension by moving to a school with a bigger enrollment. (Principals at larger schools earn bigger salaries, and pensions are based in large part on salaries earned during the final three years of employment.)

“And this carnival has absolutely mushroomed in popularity since we began it after parents who had attended Whitman recalled the carnivals of the old days,” Sullivan said. “It’s a very special night for everyone.”

Even the 30 children who live in Southeast San Diego but attend Whitman under the district’s voluntary integration program find the night special.

“One kid is even going to spend the night with a friend from the neighborhood so they can dress up in their costumes together and stay late,” Sullivan said with a laugh.