FINALIST VISITS SCHOOL

David G. Smith wants to make sure schoolchildren have a proper learning environment and all the help they need to get ahead.

Smith, one of two finalists for superintendent of the Cape Girardeau School District, talked to teachers and the public during an informal forum Monday evening at Central Junior High School.

Some 12 people attended the hourlong forum with Smith, superintendent at Excelsior Springs, northwest of Kansas City. Another 80 teachers attended meetings during the afternoon. Smith also visited several buildings in the district, including construction sites for the new elementary and high schools.

The second finalist, Dr. Dan Steska, will visit today. He will meet with the public at 5 p.m. Steska is superintendent of the Arcadia Valley School District.

Smith, 56, said the primary purpose of a school is to get students to learn.

"The school culture should be about what is in the best interest of the students," he said. "It's paramount that we care about what happens to these youngsters and that we respect them."

One way schools can create such a culture of learning is to provide strong, clear goals for instruction and performance.

"It's finding the resources and equipment for teachers," he said. "And you can't just set a performance goal by insisting that it happens. You can't make the statement without making it happen."

When asked about student performance and instruction, Smith cited several examples of how he has set goals in his district and helped teachers to reach them.

Students must learn concepts, ideas and problem solving, he said. To help students with difficulties, his district developed a tutorial program held before, after and during school.

"We decided to focus on the areas that needed help," he said. It wasn't about filling time, but focusing on problems. Teachers used technology in their lessons, which increased learning.

"We're talking about the quality of work," he said. Using technology like computer labs and the Internet in a classroom can be expensive, but it provides immediate feedback and reaches all ages, Smith said.

Smith, dressed in a business-like gray suit and a bright red tie filled with crayon-like drawings of children, showed a bit of his humor and energy while describing his forays in classrooms.

He occasionally substitute teaches in the district and told a story about his day in a kindergarten classroom. He took the class into the gym for a few minutes of play before they were to catch a bus home. Not thinking, he let them take off their shoes and run about. But when it came time to leave, he had near disaster trying to get shoes matched and on their feet before the buses left.

"Sometimes you forget," he said, adding that most of his classroom experience was with junior and high school students. "But I've learned a lot from elementary teachers."

Smith likes to interact with students, but talking to parents, district patrons and staff are also important aspects of his job.

He regularly sets aside a half day every two days to visit with teachers in their buildings and in their classrooms.

Linda Robert, a reading recovery teacher at Clippard Elementary School, liked that idea.

"I like that he said the schools have to have the best interests of students and that he gets to each building individually," she said. Judging his abilities as a leader was difficult in just an hourlong conversation, "but I like his political savvy. That's what we need."

Smith has just finished a dissertation on politics and determining how voters will react to issues. He will defend the paper on Wednesday in Columbia.

That research has helped him in many ways with bond projects and community relations in a school district. Building partnerships within the community is essential for schools, he said.

"It's not just public relations but relationships," he said. "I've learned that what is good for the community is good for the schools, and what is good for the schools is good for the community."

Smith is president of the chamber of commerce board and serves on the economic development council in Excelsior Springs.

He and his wife have four adult children and five grandchildren.