Telling Stories on the Recruiting Trail.

My son attends a very large state university. At a party one weekend, he was introduced to a fellow student, who upon hearing my son's name asked if he was related to me. This new friend explained that I had been his high school principal and that he was probably the most difficult student I'd ever encountered.

He told my son to let me know that since leaving my school I had served as his role model, that in difficult situations he tried to model my calm, reasoned manner. "Tell him he's the greatest adult I ever met, but don't tell him my name so that he thinks I could be any obnoxious student he ever had."

* Story No. 2: A principal had to suspend a 2nd grade pupil. His offense gave her little choice, and when she called the youngster's aunt, it was quickly decided that the best action would be to deliver a strong message by sending him home.

The aunt, however, didn't drive and couldn't catch a bus that would get her to school within two hours. The principal offered to drive the boy home. Along the way she stopped to purchase workbooks at a local supply store so that the boy would have something constructive to do while absent from school. She knew the student's family wouldn't be able to afford such items. His aunt greeted her with a hug and tears.

* Story No. 3: The news that the school's PTA president had been killed in an auto accident following a school meeting hit the small, rural community hard. This vivacious woman had been the heart and soul of her school.

The school principal reported that 12 students had been in his office on the day after the tragedy, tearfully explaining that his or her mother had lost her best friend. Later that day the family came to the principal and asked him to lead the memorial services. They believed he was the one who could best hold them together through these times.

* Story No. 4: The principal of the school with the lowest socioeconomic population, the most non-English-speaking students and the poorest academic performance in the district wondered what she had done. Her school, after having been closed for years due to low enrollment, had been re-opened in September with cast-off furnishings and teachers who transferred there to escape other circumstances.

It was now June and she was exhausted. But after participating in an outstanding residence institute for principals that summer, she became inspired, claiming, "I didn't just get a life preserver thrown at me; I got airlifted out of my drowning state." A year later she stood on a stage with the state superintendent of instruction as her school was honored for becoming a distinguished school.

* Story No. 5: You can never be sure why a person will choose to be a school leader. One principal relates this story: "When I was in 3rd grade my father died. I was greeted at school the following day by my principal who held me in his arms and told me in a voice I believed, 'You are going to be OK.' That's when I knew I would be. I'm a principal today because I wanted to be someone who could make such a powerful difference for a child."

A Balanced View

All of these stories are true. I collect them for a reason.

At a time when we are facing a severe shortage of willing and capable school administrators, we need to be able to share the truest joys of what it means to be a school leader, that it's an incredible opportunity to make a positive difference in this world.

The press, along with statewide and national task forces, effectively tell their own important stories about the reality of the work: the long hours, the modest pay, the uneven resources and the heightened expectations and accountabilities. We must provide some balance to that portrayal. Leading schools is a job worth doing.

Many efforts are being made by school districts and state legislatures to make the changing role of leading schools a more doable one. Increasing compensation, job sharing, signing bonuses and a redefining of the role are all legitimate steps to help with both recruitment and retainment of quality school administrators.

However, the positive stories that seasoned school administrators can tell about changing the life of a student or transforming a school are even more powerful. The satisfaction of helping teachers to inspire students to exceed their dreams outweighs the stress that comes with creating the conditions where that can regularly happen. These are the stories that must be told on the recruiting trail.

George Manthey is a professional development executive with the Association of California School Administrators, 1575 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, Calif. 94010.