To Our Readers

By James R. Gaines, Mananging Editor

Lisa Valk Long, Time's president, graduated from high school back in 1968. So when she returned to spend a day at a New York City school last week, she was not surprised to find that things had changed a bit. What struck her first was the technology. Each student now has a computerized attendance card. Staff members communicate in the hallways via walkie-talkie. More important, she had some misconceptions challenged. "I was really impressed with how articulate the kids were," she says. "Their reading skills seemed very good. I hate to admit that I might have underestimated New York's public schools."

That was the idea. Long was taking part in the Principal for a Day program, launched this year by New York City schools chancellor Ramon Cortines. More than 1,000 business and community leaders were invited to accompany a school principal for one day to get better acquainted with the city's schools and their problems. Among the participants: New York Governor Mario Cuomo, Wall Street executive Henry Kravis, NBC newscaster Jane Pauley and senior executives from American Express, Motorola and IBM.

Long was assigned to the High School of Teaching, a magnet school on Manhattan's Upper East Side aimed at students who hope for a career in education. Following principal Alan Lentin on his daily rounds, Long sat in on a science class being run by a student teacher, witnessed a faculty meeting about how to help kids in danger of failing, and watched as Lentin ran one of his regular "family group" sessions. In an attempt to break down the anonymity of a big school, these clusters of 20 to 22 students meet regularly with a faculty member to talk about anything on their minds. Long was impressed with Lentin's involvement in the job, as well as his democratic style. "He's hands-on, but not dictatorial," she says. "He's very engaged. I was impressed with how many kids' names he knew."

The students and faculty members seemed to get something out of her visit too. One girl in Lentin's family group asked Long if she found it tough being a woman in her position. (Her answer: "For me, being a woman has never been a liability.") Later, a teacher expressed disappointment that Long couldn't visit her English class: the students had just written a rap song about Macbeth. "She asked if I would come back and hear it," says Long, whose day in school at least impressed on her the importance of not dropping out. "I said sure."