A lot, actually.

The Quilcene school is the most prominent thing in our small town; and the most important point to be made is that, one thing successful schools (private, charter, home, public), and I just read a study on this; is parental involvement.

Helicopter parents; hovering? Sort of. Involved parents.

Because I have trouble remembering names, I got Trish involved. She gave me notes.

Now there’s real info overload. Basically, she and/or I chaperoned pretty much every event during the twenty years (1980 – 2000), between when our older son, James, entered pre-school; through Dru; until younger son, Sean, graduated.

Because we did volunteer, we shared in some amazing opportunities. Amazing experiences.

Now, I don’t want it to sound like it was all fun. There were the seemingly-endless bus rides (and the kids all knew better that to sit over the heater, always the only seat left); and, once on site, there was the job of actually trying to keep track of kids; and stay out of trouble myself.

If you run into music teacher Jim Hodgson, ask him about the time my cot ripped while overnighting in a Wenatchee gymnasium with the marching band; or ask Charlie Baker about the near-incident at Cannon Beach (it wasn’t dangerous or criminal, just immature). Hey, Ricky said there was a dead whale on the other side of the rocks (there wasn’t; but sneaking past the Ranger was fun).

Mr. Baker was also the teacher/advisor along on the Shellfish Club trip to France. Yeah, that France. This was an incredible and rare opportunity for small town students. And for me.  If the students didn’t fully appreciate the scale at the time, time has, no doubt, informed them, as it has my son, Sean, of the uniqueness of the experience.

Wonderful, and the students were so well behaved. Mostly. No big drama. Now, I did get caught smoking pretty much every time (and there weren’t that many) I tried to sneak a cigarette (I no longer smoke- gross), but not by students. Chaperones. Mr. Childs in particular. Thanks, Jeff.

There were, of course, activities our three children participated in without us; sporting events, (some) dances, trips to Washington, D.C. (for example); and we have to thank the teachers and parents who went along.

I wanted to list some of the school groups (Knowledge Bowl, Future Business Leaders of America, the Shellfish Club, Vocational Cooking, Marching Band), and mention (and thank) some of the teachers (Terry Heineman, Mr. White, Charles Baker, Veda Wilson, Jim Hodgson) who give students a chance to see a larger world.

It would also be only proper to mention a few of the teachers who made Quilcene Schools special: Nancy Wyatt (before she jumped ship and went to Chimacum), Beth Nelson (a graduate of Quilcene High, taught each of our children once, Sean twice- because she changed grades), Larry McKeehan (who wheeled Dru, in her chair, president of pretty much everything in her senior year, down the hall from the office she’d been hanging-out in, to his class, where she was supposed to be); Dave Garing (who helped Sean with his math, and put him to work helping other students with non-math school work- part of the reason Sean now has a Master’s Degree), and too many other great teachers to mention.

There’s not room here to list all the places and events we shared with our children; but, if you have kids in the school, do a little hovering. Volunteer. If your kids act embarrassed because you’re there; well, they’ll get over it; and you will, as Trish and I have, remember your participation fondly. Mostly.

Hey, LEADER on-line readers, here's a little extra that didn't appear in the Quilcene Community Center September Newsletter:

Trish and I credit the small school environment with giving our children some unique opportunities.

James encountered his first music teacher, Chuck LeGault, who couldn't help but mention how he had once failed Jimi Hendrix; and, later, Jim Hodgson. Starting out on drums, he was given the opportunity to lead the marching band in parades; and started his transition to guitar. Performing at school-sponsored talent shows with other students gave him his first public success. Nothing breeds success like small successes. He now is a professional guitar player in Idaho (because of the University of Idaho's Lionel Hampton School of Music), with his own band and a long time role as lead guitar with the Fabulous Kingpins.

I did mention Sean's work with Dave Gering, now happily assisting his wife Jan at Windermere Real Estate in Port Townsend. Encouragement, understanding, and some pushing really made a difference.

With Drucilla, currently working at "The Onion" in Chicago, her resume' of, as mentioned, being the president of pretty much everything in her very *competitive class, yearbook editor for three years, other outside activities, was a definite help in earning scholarships to attend Loyola University in Chicago (where she still lives- seems to be a trend).

*The class of 1998. Maybe the parents were extremely involved, but of 19 in the graduating class, almost every one of the women went on to earn a college degree; one has a doctorate. The boys did okay, also.

 The truth is, all the school systems in our area would be considered small. The opportunities are here.