Monacan High School - Legend Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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Providing an important example of excellence Among Chesterfield County schools, Monacan has gained a reputation as a very effi- ciently run high school. Mrs. Donna Crane, who shares as- sistant principal duties at Monacan with Mr. Buddy Jones, and Mrs. Pat Shumate, credits this achievement to principal Larry Elliott and the teachers. ‘‘Mr. Elliott sets the policies and the teachers agree to enforce them to cre- ate efficiency at Monacan,”’ she claims. Mrs. Crane, born in Honolu- lu, Hawaii, traveled extensive- ly during her childhood due to her father’s position as colo- nelinthe Army. The family set- tled in Virginia after her fa- ther’s retirement from the ser- vice. Later she attended Vir- ginia colleges, receiving her BA in English from Longwood and her master’s, also in Eng- lish, from Va. Tech. Mrs. Crane taught a wide variety of English courses before be- coming one of Monocan’s as- sistant principals. She began her career teaching seventh grade in Roanoke and then taught freshman composition at Va. Tech. Mrs. Crane spent the six years before she came to Monacan teaching English to ninth, tenth, and twelfth graders at Manchester High School. As one of Monacan’s assis- tant principals, she is in charge of observing and as- sisting teachers in the depart- ments of English, Social Stud- ies, Foreign Languages, Uni- fied Arts, and Special Educa- tion. She shares discipline and counseling responsibil- ities with the other two assis- tant principals. Another of her duties is keeping track of all textbooks used at Monacan, a task she says “‘sounds simple but, in reality, is not.”’ Although Mrs. Crane is one of the few woman administra- tors in Chesterfield County high schools, she has never felt out of place or uncomfort- iii able in her position just be- cause she is a female. She dismissed the idea that she is paving the way for future wom- en administrators because she is judged on her compe- tence and responsibility, as other women considered for administrative positions will be. Mrs. Crane’s goals for the future include law school and beginning her doctorate. a ET Se Se Intimidation. Using her stature and position, Mrs. Donna Crane has been known to strike fear in the hearts of students. RCE ities eaitaneteay . Nett Administration 131

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The glue that holds us together. The irreplaceable Roberta North main- tains control at all times. The powers that be. Between an im- portant meeting, Mr. Elliot and Mr. Jones, share a joke with Dr. Sullins. Another decision. Even during play, Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Crane are faced with difficult decisions. New girl in town. Becoming accus- tomed to her new surroundings, Mrs. Pat Shumate completes her paper work. 130 Administration

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From Math to Marlin Upon entering room 303, one would think one was enter- ing the room of an old salt of the sea. Fishing nets, filled with shells and aquatic crea- tures, adorn the walls; then one notices the computers in the corner and the numerical formulas and equations writ- ten across the board. This must be a mathematics class of Miss Robbie Crisp. Miss Crisp came to Mona- can last year after teaching at Providence Jr. High School. She grew up in Richmond and attended Manchester High School. Although she originally planned to become a physical education teacher, she stud- ied math at Longwood College and took Computer training courses at Hampden-Sydney. To further her education she has enrolled in a graduate pro- gram in math education at Vir- ginia Commonwealth Universi- ty. The best aspect of teach- 132 ing, is getting to work with young people,”’ she says, ‘‘the worst is all the paper work en- tailed.’’ Miss Crisp enjoys the school spirit and unity at Mon- acan. She is glad to see so many students enrolled in computer programming courses and feels that in the next 25 years every family will have a computer in their homes. Miss Crisp now goes to Cape Hatteras every summer and almost every free week- end. She catches mainly game fish such as sailfish and blue marlin, and frequently encoun- ters sharks, dolphins, and tuna, but does not believe in killing big game fish for show. Ms. Crisp proves that teachers are not one-sided creatures, in fact, they are quite normal. Catch of the day. After a tiring day at sea, Miss Crisp shows off her catch of the day.