BANKER VIEWS SCHOOL AS ASSET : 11 SPEND DAY AS PRINCIPALS.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

Christy Cortes had forgotten about visiting the principal's office, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every school morning and experiencing the story-time ritual.

But it all came back to her Wednesday. As Principal for a Day at White Oak Elementary, she had to remember - quickly.

``I'm remembering a lot of things today,'' said Cortes, whose usual job is as a branch manager for City National Bank. ``It's wonderful. I'm really enjoying my time here.''

Las Virgenes Unified School District's annual Principal for a Day program gave community leaders from around the region a personal view of how their local schools function.

Eleven of the district's 13 schools - three high schools, two middle schools and six elementary schools - participated.

Among the community leaders invited by school officials to be temporary principals were Calabasas Mayor Bob Hill, City Councilman Robert Sibilia, orthodontist Stuart Hoffman, Marc Hurd, director of technical operations at CBS, and Cortes.

``From my position, I get to see what the goals and needs are here and find out how we can help,'' Cortes said about briefly being the principal at White Oak. That is just what district officials had in mind for the visitors.

But there were other benefits for Cortes - such as having 30 enthralled kindergartners listen to the story of ``The Principal's New Clothes,'' a variation on the classic tale of an emperor who is tricked into paying for a suit that doesn't exist.

Cortes showed the students the pictures in the book.

``Where are his clothes?'' she asked them.

She got a chorus of answers.

``They're invisible,'' several kindergartners yelled simultaneously.

``He's in his underwear,'' said one, giggling.

Before lunch, Cortes and regular Principal Dorothy Penney visited a classroom, disciplined some students for their behavior during the flag salute, took a tour of the campus and talked with a first-grader who had done exceptional work in class. The telephone rang steadily while Penney shared her office with Cortes.

Cortes and Penney compared information about their jobs and found plenty of similarities. They were mutually pleased.

``We think we're doing a good job here, but to have a visitor - there's a lot of validation,'' Penney said, ``and it makes me feel less alone. I can see what's going on in the business community.''

``She's fantastic,'' Cortes said. ``There's a lot of respect and support given to her. . . . I'm amazed by what she accomplishes with her time.''

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Photo: (1-2--Color) Christy Cortes, a branch manager for City National Bank, talks with first-graders, above, and shows kindergartners a book for storytime, below, in her role as a school Principal for a Day.

Tina Gerson/Daily News