Timing is Everything

It's been a busy travel time for me lately - Fairbanks last weekend and Wales this weekend. In the process, I had to drop a trip to Koyuk and Elim to cover the Bering Strait School District Board of Education meeting this past Thursday and Friday. I thought that could go to the bottom of the pile, after looking at the agenda and not seeing anything of very great importance.

Of course, I was wrong, as I discovered when I returned to my desk this evening and saw a BSSD press release, the first sentence of which reads, "The Bering Strait School Board announces the retirement of Superintendent John Davis effective June 30, 2007." Well, it would have been nice to have some tape from him or Albert Washington, the board chair, but I guess that's life.

That being said, John Davis is somebody I admire greatly, based on my small number of meetings with him. Not only is he genuinely friendly (he once offered me a ride off of Little Diomede Island when I was weathered in but his pilot was willing to fly) but he also strikes me as an excellent educator.

And while my timing may have been off, his is perfect. Giving adequate warning of his departure is probably the best step he could take to ensure a smooth transition and the continuation of the progress he's started.