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When she started college, Deborah Walker Guyton had no intentions of pursuing a career in education.

"No way I was going to be a teacher," she said, laughing.

Now she is principal of Clarkton School of Discovery, and has been named Bladen County's Principal of the Year.

The Principal of the Year is chosen by other principals in the school system. Local principals each get a $200 award from Wachovia Bank and Trust Co., and move on to regional and state contests.

Regional award winners get $2,000 for their school and a matching amount for personal use. State winners receive $3,000 each for the winners and the school.

"It was a great honor to realize my fellow principals felt this way about me," she said. "I can't thank them enough."

Were it not for the encouragement of her father, Guyton likely would have followed another career path.

"As they so often do," she said, "my daddy knew best."

The Clarkton School of Discovery principal said her father encouraged her to become a teacher.

"My sisters were teaching," she said. "Daddy told me, you can always make a good living in education."

She was majoring in political science when she decided to shift directions and get a degree in teaching.

"From the moment I started," she said, "I've realized this was for me, and middle school was my favorite place."

Guyton taught at Bladenboro Middle School before accepting the position of Assistant Principal at Spaulding-Monroe, which was closed this year. She also served as assistant principal at Bladenboro High School before becoming top administrator at the Clarkton School of Discovery four years ago.

"Middle school is a special place and time for children.," she said. "To be at a magnet school makes it even more so."

Magnet school draws wide variety of students

Clarkton is is the county's only magnet school, and emphasizes the use and application of arts in all curricula. Students from all over the county apply to attend. The school only has spaces for 335 students.

A magnet school allows students, parents and teachers who might normally never meet the opportunity to interact.

"Students who might never have known anyone from the opposite side of the county are becoming friends," she said.

The variety of students attending the school-from the dependents of military retirees in the northwestern part of the county to children whose grandparents attended school in Clarkton-breeds new ideas and new possibilities, Guyton said.

"It's different every day," she said.

The town of Clarkton has embraced the school and its students, she said.

"The folks here are wonderful," Guyton said. "Sometimes people are leery of non-traditional schools like magnet schools. Not here-the residents understand what we are about, and they've gone out of their way to make us welcome."

Guyton said one of the most challenging differences between teaching and being a principal is the broader view.

"As a teacher," she said, "you can control your environment somewhat. You care mostly about your class, and that draws most of your care and attention."

"As a principal, you get to see how all the classes blend in and work together," she said. "And you have to make sure they work together efficiently."

Middle schoolers are also challenging because most aren't afraid to speak their minds, Guyton said.

"They'll let me know if they have a complaint," she said. "I appreciate that and encourage it."

Magnet schools provide a unique learning environment that allows some students to better achieve, Guyton said.

"A child who might not enjoy science might actually excel if he or she can apply that science," she said.

Early mornings,

long nights

Guyton arrives at the school between 7:00 and 7:30 am. She doesn't leave, she said, "until the last ball game or the last performance is finished, and the last parent or teacher has gone home."

Another major adjustment was the loss of summer vacation.

"I used to look forward to summer vacation," she said, "but principals work 12 months out of the year."

In her spare time, Guyton said, she likes to read. She also teaches English as a second language to the growing community of Polish and Czech immigrants working in local agriculture operations.

She is quick to point out that most of her ESL skills are aimed at people who speak some English, and want to improve their use and application of the language.

"I didn't speak a word of Polish or Czech," she said.

She decided to assist in the Bladen Community College program after seeing announcements that an instructor was needed.

"I thought it might be interesting," she said, "and I wanted to help someone."

While many of the immigrants speak fair English, they sometimes have problems with colloquialisms.

"They want to know what is the meaning of the word "ya'll," she said.

The immigrants, Guyton said, surprised her.

"They are so polite, so formal, yet so warm and friendly," she said.

Since she started teaching the class, some of her students have started families.

"It's a great community to be a part of," she said.

Guyton's husband, Ron, works with the Smithfield Company Police and the Elizabethtown Police Department. Their daughter, Izma, attends UNC-Wilmington, where she is studying birth to kindergarten education.

Proud of her teachers and their students

As she walks the halls of Clarkton School, Guyton is regularly greeted by students and teachers alike.

A student who scored well on a test gets a congratulatory high five from the principal; another who appeared to be daydreaming immediately went back to reading after a quick, but not overly sharp, word.

An end-of-class bell catches the principal in the hallway. She is caught up in hugs, progress reports, and news from home.

Nearly all the students greet Guyton, and most stop to speak.

"The students at this age are interested," she said. "They're excited-they're curious about the world, and they're a joy to teach."

Guyton is proud of the fact that many of her teachers are willing to enter their students' projects in regional and statewide competitions.

"That shows they are proud of their children," she said. "They feel good enough about what goes on at Clarkton School to show it to everyone."

Some of the school's teachers teach half-time at Clarkton, either splitting the school day or the school year at other county schools.

Some of the teachers drive from as far as Wilmington.

"They could easily get jobs elsewhere," she said. "I think it's because they know we have something special at Clarkton."

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