Quiet Is His Comfortable Mode.

He's low key and low profile, someone who delegates responsibility and doesn't particularly care whether credit comes his way. It's an operating formula that suits Brent Thorne just fine as superintendent of the 4,800-student Sevier School District in central Utah.

Thorne isn't one to make a lot of noise, either. But soft-spoken doesn't mean soft touch.

"When he presents himself, he is an effective speaker," observes the editor of the weekly Richfield Reaper, Mark Fellenbach, who insists he's never locked horns with the superintendent over an issue. "When he says he's trying to do something, he follows through on it."

Fellenbach and others point to the superintendent's effective campaigning for a successful $16 million bond election a year ago for school construction that attracted 78 percent voter approval.

Thorne also is recognized for being up-front and honest, though not brutally so and rarely confrontational. He says his style of personnel management is to "gently remind and work with others when they are not performing up to expectations." On several occasions he has deftly shifted underperformers to new positions where they have risen to higher standards "and avoided some serious problems in the community," says Carolyn Washburn, the school board president and a former teacher.

"There's never been an administrator in our district who has made employees feel as supportive," she says.

Two years ago, the school board received an unusual standing ovation from the district's teachers at their fall training institute, but Washburn concedes, "That came because he's the one making us look good."

"Yes," Thorne says, "I put the board out in front as much as possible. If there's heat, I'll take the heat."

An adept grants writer, Thorne has concentrated on ensuring teachers are equipped fully with the tools and knowledge they need for effective instruction. He has provided all 220 teachers in Sevier with desktop computers with Internet access along with extensive training. He launched a program to pay full tuition costs for teachers to obtain masters' degrees. And through a Goals 2000 grant Thorne wrote, the district operates a teacher induction program for Sevier and six neighboring school districts.

In addition, Thorne implemented a comprehensive software management program that links all district schools through an intranet. This gives staff members on-line access to student records, transportation, food services, maintenance and electronic communication.

During a five-year stint as superintendent in North Sanpete, Utah, Thorne wrote 35 competitive grant applications and received funding for 30, which corralled more than $1 million for the 2,400-student district. Some of that funding enabled him to provide 30 teachers with 8-week sabbaticals to work on a curriculum integration project.

It's no wonder the staff can't envision life without him at the helm of the Sevier district, located two hours south of Provo.

"People in other districts are envious of what we have," says Elaine Wayland, an elementary school principal and a past president of the Sevier Education Association. "The only thing we don't have are counselors at the elementary schools, but I keep working on him about that."

Wayland says Thorne had to earn the trust of the staff, which was suffering from low morale when he arrived on the scene in 1992. She points to his knack for watching and listening intently. "And then he'll make a little comment that you'll think about for a while."

Thorne says he's accepted several jobs in his professional career where morale of staff members was on the decline. "I have been able to turn things around by ... rolling up my sleeves and working with them. A sense of humor is critical and the ability to laugh at yourself once in awhile helps keep things in perspective."

Thorne's colleagues in Utah elected him president of the Utah School Superintendents Association in 1996-97 and he serves on the executive committee of the Utah Rural Schools Association. These posts have given him a close look at the state's legislative process, which he tactfully describes as "somewhat frustrating. ... As you work with the legislature, you see how they make decisions with so little information. It can be scary."

But in keeping with the dignified way he treats others, Thorne won't venture into genuine criticism of lawmakers.

"Great things can be accomplished when we don't worry about who is going to get the credit," he explains, "and I attempt to live and model this."

Jay Goldman is the editor of The School Administrator.

BIO STATS: BRENT THORNE

Currently: superintendent, Sevier School District, Richfield, Utah

Earlier: Coached football, wrestling, baseball and track during 10 years as a high school teacher

Age: 54

Best Advice: My father once told me, "When you work for someone, do more than is expected and opportunities will take care of themselves."

Best Professional Day: Any day when I see students and staff experiencing success and the joy of learning

Books at Bedside: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl and The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School by Neil Postman

Biggest Blooper: Speaking to a group of 500 parents with my fly open

Why I'm an AASA Member: Public education is critical to the survival of democracy as we know it. AASA is one of the few strong national voices supporting public schools.