THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506030109
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Upon hearing the word ``school,'' the image that pops into the minds of most of us is that of a woman in front of a classroom full of children. It's curious then that Chesapeake, in all its history, has never had a female high school principal.
That changed last week when Janet Andrejco, who came to Chesapeake in 1979 as a special-education teacher, was appointed principal of Oscar F. Smith High School.
Dr. W. Randolph Nichols, who will take over as superintendent this summer, emphasized that the appointment was made on the basis of professional qualifications, not gender. She was simply the right person for the job.
``I wish I could take credit for something as honorable as that,'' Nichols said when asked whether he made a conscious effort to promote a woman.
Intentional or not, the appointment is a milestone.
There's no use denying that unfair sexual stereotypes have prevented women from realizing their full potential in public school systems in the past. No more evidence of that is needed than the fact that Mrs. Andrejco is only one of three female high school principals in all of South Hampton Roads.
The significance of her appointment then, is not that she got the job, but that she was not prevented from getting it.
Students of both sexes in the city's schools will benefit from this clear demonstration that the insidious barriers that have prevented women from realizing their full potential are finally cracking. by CNB